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Updated Google Maps shows destruction of the city of Rafah

943 points · 947 comments · slowin

  1. bognition · · focus · HN ↗
    Its really telling to see the destruction limited to where the structures used to be rather than to all of the surrounding green spaces. If the destruction of civilian dwellings was purely an accident you'd expect to see the destruction spread evenly over the area. Instead it looks much more like a prolonged set of surgical strikes to destroy the buildings while preserving as much of the surrounding areas as possible.

    For a great example of this, look at this pin <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA

    And here&#x27;s a pin of where the farms were spared <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9

    1. biimugan · · focus · HN ↗
      I don&#x27;t quite understand your argument here. In your first pin I&#x27;m struggling to find a single building that isn&#x27;t leveled, or at least severely damaged. Even buildings far away from the city center in the boonies are leveled.
      1. skissane · · focus · HN ↗
        You can also see a lot of buildings demolished on the Egyptian side too.

        In 2015, the Egyptian government announced a plan to demolish the entire Egyptian city of Rafah, in order to deter smuggling with the Gaza Strip. More than a decade on, most of it is gone. The residents were forcibly relocated to elsewhere in Egypt.

        1. elcritch · · focus · HN ↗
          It also looks similar to Mosul in Iraq before and after the ISIS and Iraq and coalition forces fought:

          <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;interactive&#x2F;2017&#x2F;07&#x2F;15&#x2F;world&#x2F;middleeast&#x2F;mosul-before-after.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;interactive&#x2F;2017&#x2F;07&#x2F;15&#x2F;world&#x2F;middlee...

          Urban warfare is brutal, especially when one side systematically digs in and uses IEDs and booby traps in civilian buildings.

          1. erxam · · focus · HN ↗

            [dead]

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