New Gaza City photographs document damaged landmarks and public spaces turned into shelters

Gaza City’s damaged landmarks and public spaces converted into shelters are documented in a photographic report published by Al Jazeera on October 9, 2026. The comparison of archive and recent images shows how destruction since October 2023 has changed places used for fishing, education, worship and sport, with displaced Palestinians now sheltering at the port, a university campus and a stadium.

The report, by Maram Humaid and Abdelhakim Abu Riash, pairs earlier views of familiar streets and buildings with photographs presented as new. Its publication offers a fresh account of those places; it does not establish that the damage happened recently. Exact capture dates for the new photographs are not provided in the accompanying text.

Gaza’s port, campus and stadium become shelters

At Gaza’s port, Al Jazeera describes thousands of displaced families living in tents around a damaged coastline. The port previously served as a base for local fishermen and a gathering place for residents. Many fishing boats have been damaged or destroyed, according to the report’s captions.

Nearby coastal scenes show changes along Al-Rashid Street, a road running nearly 45 kilometres and connecting northern and southern Gaza. Rebuilt in 2015, it was lined with hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops. Al Jazeera reports severe damage to parts of the road and surrounding areas, with tents occupying sections of the coastline.

Yarmouk Stadium, opened in 1952 and previously used for sporting and public events, is described as out of sporting use and serving as a shelter. Alongside the university and port, it illustrates the changed use of spaces that once supported distinct parts of the city’s daily life.

Historic mosques and cultural venues show extensive damage

The photographs also document the Rashad al-Shawwa Cultural Centre in Remal, formerly a venue for exhibitions, conferences and public events. Al Jazeera describes parts of the building as destroyed and its surroundings as ruined. UNESCO separately includes the centre in its inventory of cultural sites with verified damage.

In the Old City, Qasr al-Basha, a 13th-century Mamluk palace restored and converted into an archaeological museum in 2010, is described by Al Jazeera as heavily damaged. The report also shows the Great Omari Mosque, which it identifies as Gaza’s largest and oldest mosque, with architectural layers associated with Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods.

Al Jazeera dates heavy damage to the Great Omari Mosque to December 2023 and says much of it, including its historic minaret, lies in ruins. It dates the complete destruction of the portside Al-Hasayna Mosque, also known as al-Mina Mosque, to November 2023. That mosque had opened in 2017.

The report extends beyond cultural buildings to Sheikh Radwan Pond, built in 2000 to collect rainwater with a capacity of about 500,000 cubic metres. It cites a September 2026 statement from the Palestinian Water Authority saying sewage entered the pond after damage to its drainage system.

What UNESCO’s 164-site assessment establishes

UNESCO’s cultural heritage assessment records verified damage to 164 sites as of March 24, 2026, covering damage since October 7, 2023. Updated on March 25, the assessment is a dated verification total, rather than an October count or a finding that all 164 sites were completely destroyed.

The total comprises 128 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 14 religious sites, nine monuments, eight archaeological sites, two museums and three repositories of movable cultural property. Listed sites include the Great Omari Mosque, Pasha Palace Museum, Al-Qissariya Market, Hamam AsSamra and Saint Porphyrios Orthodox Church Complex.

UNESCO uses satellite imagery and analysis by UNITAR/UNOSAT. It says rapid site visits have complemented remote assessments where access and security permit since the October 10, 2025 ceasefire. Its inventory establishes damage; it does not establish site-specific military responsibility, intent or legality.

Emergency preservation precedes full rehabilitation

In an April 7 article updated August 19, UNESCO described work with the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation on emergency stabilization, debris removal and preserving architectural elements in Gaza’s Old City for future rehabilitation.

That update reported five heritage sites stabilized, creating 1,850 working days for 30 local workers, with seven more sites undergoing stabilization. These are achievements reported at the time of the update, rather than a newly verified October tally.

UNESCO reported mobilizing $5.7 million across culture, education and media assistance, and said it and its partners aimed to mobilize $116.5 million for emergency and recovery efforts. The larger amount was a target, and neither figure represented a heritage-only reconstruction budget.

The agency called for increased international support to expand this work. Its account describes emergency preservation for later rehabilitation, without establishing complete restoration of the landmarks in the October photographic report. The reports do not establish a current citywide reconstruction timetable, total repair cost or the present habitability of individual damaged buildings.