Thread

Updated Google Maps shows destruction of the city of Rafah

943 points · 947 comments · slowin

bognition · 1790616426 · 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://maps.app.goo.gl/ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA" rel="nofollow">https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA
And here's a pin of where the farms were spared <a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9" rel="nofollow">https://maps.app.goo.gl/iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9
1. YZF · 1790663982 · focus · HN ↗
  The buildings were levelled with bulldozers for the most part after the civilians left during combat operations against the tunnel infrastructure and any remaining combatants. Not sure what the "surgical strikes" comment is about. Are you asking why weren't open spaces destroyed or attacked?
  1. 4gotunameagain · 1790668528 · focus · HN ↗
    An alternative to levelling entire cities to the ground to find tunnels, would be to stop the expanding of the settlers, stop the apartheid within Israel, stop the blockade and starving on Gaza, and try to actually foster peace instead of constant conflict, pain and misery in order to retain power.
    This is despicable, inhumane. It is generational trauma that started with the Nazis, now propagated to the poor souls around the new western colony of Israel.
    jameshilliard · 1790724575 · focus · HN ↗
    > An alternative to levelling entire cities to the ground to find tunnels, would be to stop the expanding of the settlers, stop the apartheid within Israel, stop the blockade and starving on Gaza, and try to actually foster peace instead of constant conflict, pain and misery in order to retain power.
    Israel left Gaza back in 2005 after forcibly expelling all Jews and only later on only blockaded Gaza due to weapons being smuggled in, so they tried that and it clearly didn't work. It seems unilateral disengagement is simply not a strategy that can be succesful here.
    4gotunameagain · 1790748497 · focus · HN ↗
    This is such a spin. A 20 year blockade (and allowing Qatar to fund Hamas) leading to the Oct. 7 attack - the justification - for the ongoing atrocities, framed as "unilateral disengagement" that was not successful. Therefore it is the Palestinian's at fault.
    It is clear that Israel is the source of violence. Which makes sense, as it is a new Western colony occupying (and constantly expanding) land where people lived for thousands of years, under the justification THAT IT'S IN THE BIBLE.
    A religious fundamentalist colony, funded and armed by the west.
    It is unjustifiable. It is vile.
    rantoniol · 1790751808 · focus · HN ↗
    > A 20 year blockade (and allowing Qatar to fund Hamas)
    The blockade only started after Hamas was elected into power, to reduce their access to more missiles and weapons. The money from Qatar was still allowed in for humanitarian reasons. But no matter what Israel does it is accused of being evil - both allowing the money through and blocking it would be considered wrong by the haters.
    > a new Western colony occupying (and constantly expanding) land
    The total land under control by Israel has shrunk by more than 50% over the past 50 years (with the return of Sinai to Egypt in exchange for peace).
    Millions of Arabs have migrated to the West, but only when Jews migrate East are they “vile colonizers”.
    4gotunameagain · 1790761819 · focus · HN ↗
    > The blockade only started after Hamas was elected into power
    Israel has been restricting Gaza's economic viability since the 90s, much before the official blockade.
    > The money from Qatar was still allowed in for humanitarian reasons
    Is this a joke ? The humanitarian Israel that does not let international flotillas with aid reach Gaza ? Or the humanitarian Israel that kills children ?
    > The total land under control by Israel has shrunk by more than 50% over the past 50 years
    The spin of the century. They gave back uninhabitable desert, while continuing expansion all over Palestine.
    > Millions of Arabs have migrated to the West, but only when Jews migrate East are they “vile colonizers”.
    Firstly, it has nothing to do with religion. Secondly, migration is quite different than a formation of a military state that constantly occupies land and expands, attacking its neighbours that has been there for millennia.
    You are spewing propaganda.
    rantoniol · 1790764278 · focus · HN ↗
    > Is this a joke ?
    Israel is currently allowing in thousands of truckloads carrying 35,000 metric tons of aid per month, according to the UN: <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ocha-newsitem-7aug26/" rel="nofollow">https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ocha-newsitem-7aug26/
    What they blocked was a sailboat carrying a bag of oranges and anti-Israel activists trying to carry out a media stunt for attention and virtue-signalling.
    You obviously have an agenda here and are being disingenuous. I will disengage and leave you spewing your lies.
    manyaoman · 1790768430 · focus · HN ↗
    It's okay to have an agenda, just be honest about it please. Anti-Zionists tend to be pretty open about their agenda: opposing colonialism, ethno-states, genocide etc. It's telling that modern Zionists often seem less willing to express theirs.
    grewady · 1790773816 · focus · HN ↗
    You don’t call it colonialism when it’s Muslims migrating en masse to Europe, you don’t oppose ethno-states when they are Arab states that have cleansed all their Jews, and you don’t give a shit about actual genocides.
    manyaoman · 1790776464 · focus · HN ↗
    > You don’t call it colonialism when it’s Muslims migrating en masse to Europe
    Mass migration generally does more harm than good and should be reserved for very exceptional cases like natural disasters.
    > you don’t oppose ethno-states when they are Arab states that have cleansed all their Jews
    Such as Saudi Arabia? Seeing it fall apart is my favorite thing about 2026 lmao.
    > and you don’t give a shit about actual genocides.
    I do but it makes sense to focus especially on the one being carried out with my tax money.

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