Gaza in Ruins: A BBC Eyewitness Account of Desolation Post-War

Thu Nov 06 2025 01:22:26 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a recent report, BBC correspondent Lucy Williamson provides a stark and haunting glimpse into the devastation of Gaza, nearly two years into the ongoing conflict. From the remnants of neighborhoods to the pervasive military presence, the landscape tells a story of loss and destruction.

The BBC's Lucy Williamson offers a firsthand account of the catastrophic impact of the ongoing war in Gaza, showcasing an area desolated by military action. The report illustrates a landscape transformed into rubble, with reports of high casualty figures on both sides. As Israel maintains a tight grip on media access, the situation remains tense, with continued clashes and a fragile ceasefire.

From an embankment overlooking Gaza City, there's no hiding what this war has done.

The Gaza of maps and memories is gone, replaced by a monochrome landscape of rubble stretching flat and still for 180 degrees, from Beit Hanoun on one side to Gaza City on the other.

Beyond the distant shapes of buildings still standing inside Gaza City, there's almost nothing left to orient you here, or identify the neighbourhoods that once held tens of thousands of people.

This was one of the first areas Israeli ground troops entered in the early weeks of the war. Since then they have been back multiple times, as Hamas regrouped around its strongholds in the area.

Israel does not allow news organisations to report independently from Gaza. Today it took a group of journalists, including the BBC, into the area of the Strip occupied by Israeli forces.

The brief visit was highly controlled and offered no access to Palestinians, or other areas of Gaza.

Military censorship laws in Israel mean that military personnel were shown our material before publication. The BBC maintained editorial control of this report at all times.

Asked about the level of destruction in the area we visited, Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said it was not a goal.

The goal is to combat terrorists. Almost every house had a tunnel shaft or was booby-trapped or had an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] or sniper station, he said.

The Israeli military base we travelled to is a few hundred metres from the yellow line – the temporary boundary set out in US President Donald Trump's peace plan, which divides the areas of Gaza still controlled by Israeli forces from the areas controlled by Hamas.

The next stage of the US-led plan requires Hamas to disarm and hand over power to a Palestinian committee overseen by international figures including President Trump.

Overall, the day spent observing the ruins underscored the urgent need for a longstanding resolution to ensure the safety and stability of Gaza's future.