Israel Hamas war: Startling images show the ongoing war’s impact to this small area in Gaza

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Israel has identified the southern Gaza town of Rafah as the next target in its military offensive against Hamas.

The town is normally home to 280,000 people. But its population has swelled to more than 1.5 million — roughly three-quarters of Gaza’s population — as people flee fighting elsewhere in Gaza. Sprawling tent camps now dot the city.

The photos below were taken three months apart - and capture the difference.

Photos / Satellite imagery by Planet Labs PBC

They show an area near the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp. It’s part of the wider urban Rafah refugee camp, one of eight in the Gaza Strip that were built for families displaced during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.

In what was once scrubland near farm fields, a tent city has now sprung up. Hundreds of makeshift shelters surround the warehouse - one distribution centre for the limited aid now entering the besieged strip.

The US and other members of the international community have raised concerns about the safety of civilians if Israeli troops move into the densely populated city.