Satellite photo shows huge cloud of smoke over Gaza
Israel's army advances against Hamas and reports its successes to the public. After one of the many air strikes, satellite images south of Gaza City show a huge cloud of smoke in the sky. What has caught fire there?
War is raging in the Gaza Strip. And although less and less information is leaking out of the sealed-off region, it is becoming clear just how big the trail of devastation must be on the ground.
On Thursday, 16 November, for example, a Sentinel-2 satellite from the European Copernicus earth observation program captured a dark column of smoke rising vertically into the sky on the outskirts of Gaza City. Various satellite images and publicly available maps from the neighborhood indicate that the fire originated from an industrial building near the Omer bin Al-Khattab mosque in a suburb of Gaza City.
The cause of the fire and the massive amount of smoke is unclear. However, research by ntv.de has revealed that there had been at least one air strike by the Israeli army in the immediate vicinity the night before.
A video published by the Israeli armed forces on X, formerly Twitter, shows a projectile hitting a little further south of the industrial building. According to the IDF, the airstrike targeted the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau. According to the tweet, the bombed building served as a meeting place for leading Hamas members.
According to the ntv verification team, the rocket fired in the video is likely to have hit just a few hundred meters from the industrial building shown in flames on the satellite image. However, it is not possible to clarify from the available sources whether and to what extent the large fire is directly related to the air attack during the night. It also remains unclear whether other missiles were fired at the surrounding area.
However, data from Nasa's satellite-based fire detection system (FIRMS, Fire Information for Resource Management System) supports the assumption that the fire must have broken out on the morning of the Sentinel-2 image and was detected by the Nasa satellites.
Refugees have nowhere to feel safe
According to the Israeli army, Hamas has been increasingly losing ground since the start of the ground offensive, especially in the north of the Palestinian territory. Gaza City has been considered surrounded since the beginning of November. According to their own statements, the armed forces are advancing specifically against facilities in which they suspect Hamas command centers and hideouts, as in the case of the Shifa hospital.
Israel's actions are being criticized internationally. Countless civilians are still holding out in the embattled areas and seeking shelter near humanitarian facilities. In the south of the Gaza Strip, too, Palestinians who have already fled are living in sometimes catastrophic conditions and at risk of being caught between the fronts again.
A leaflet campaign in Khan Yunes recently caused a stir, in which the Israeli military called on civilians to seek shelter elsewhere. The town lies more than twelve kilometers below the Wadi Gaza, the line originally drawn by Israel between the evacuation zone and the combat zone. The new announcements could indicate that Israel is also planning to advance in the south of the Gaza Strip.
The international community is criticizing Israel's advancement in the Middle East conflict, as many civilians are still trapped in the besieged Gaza Strip. The Israeli army is targeting facilities suspected to house Hamas command centers and hideouts, such as the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, leading to a huge cloud of smoke over the region.
Despite the intense conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, refugees who have managed to find temporary shelter are now living in precarious conditions in the south, fearing a further advancement of the Israeli army.
Source: www.ntv.de
