Updated Google Maps shows destruction of the city of Rafah

(twitter.com)

211 points | by slowin 10 hours ago ago

46 comments

  • almogo an hour ago ago

    Israeli here. Maybe I can give some helpful context.

    Most people in Israel have not, and probably will not see this - any “support” for Palestinians is seen as a very far-left idea after Oct 7. There are still many here who oppose the extent of the war - I see regular demonstrations in Tel Aviv calling for peace. I will note that there seems to be fairly universal agreement that _something_ needed to be done after Oct 7. If you want to understand the Israeli perspective (doesn’t seem like most commenters do, but I’m not writing this for them), you have to look at how Oct 7 shaped Israeli society these last 3 years.

    But anyways, don’t take my word for anything, pay attention to our upcoming elections. We will see how big the tents are then.

    Wishing for peace, for saner voices to rise, and for an end to this cycle of violence.

    • mandevil 15 minutes ago ago

      My own country lost its mind after 2,977 people died in one terrorist attack a quarter of a century ago and we made many many bad decisions for a long time afterwards. It sucked. In October 2023 I had hoped that my countries well publicized example would help your country not make the same choices but it's hard to learn from other people's mistakes.

  • bognition 8 hours ago ago

    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 https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZcMbdFcx87PrqoYNA

    And here's a pin of where the farms were spared https://maps.app.goo.gl/iZbbTH4iH27FCz4s9

    • biimugan 8 hours ago ago

      I don't quite understand your argument here. In your first pin I'm struggling to find a single building that isn't leveled, or at least severely damaged. Even buildings far away from the city center in the boonies are leveled.

      • skissane an hour ago ago

        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.

      • cogman10 3 hours ago ago

        They are saying that this is genocidal destruction. In a war sometimes civilian infrastructure is hit as collateral. But here, all infrastructure is destroyed and it's clear this wasn't done by 1 or 2 errant bombs but rather because of direct targeting. It can't be argued to be an accident because in farmland you see no bombs which hit the farmland by mistake. In other-words, this is entirely purposeful.

        • teleforce an hour ago ago

          >this is entirely purposeful

          Please check Norman Finkelstein's latest book namely Gaza's Gravediggers on this matter [1].

          He also has a very telling and chilling interview recently on Palestine and Gaza [2].

          [1] Gaza's Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places [book].

          [2] Norman Finkelstein Reveals Shocking Discoveries While Researching History of Israel’s Gaza Obsession [video]:

          https://youtu.be/Jmv2h1WYnNo

          • yyyk an hour ago ago
            • bluealienpie an hour ago ago

              He also promotes transphobia. Chomsky was friends with Epstein and acquaintance of Steve Bannon. I don’t think that discredits his entire body of work, but I think we should stop promoting him when there are sources that are less problematic.

              • cogman10 an hour ago ago

                You are mixing Chomsky (the subreddit) up with Norm (the book author). Norm was friends with Chomsky but not Epstein or Bannon. I'm unaware of him having transphobic views.

          • Sabinus an hour ago ago

            I would caution against uncritical consumption of Finkelstein's work. He is a bit unhinged, and limited in what content he can analyse as he can't read Arabic or Hebrew.

            Also Tucker Carlson? Seriously?

        • rbanffy 26 minutes ago ago

          A war requires at least two militaries. This is what happens when a well armed military engages a mostly unarmed civilian society unable to mount significant opposition.

    • ImPostingOnHN 8 hours ago ago

      They just use bulldozers to flatten whatever the bombs don't. They can drive a bulldozer pretty precisely, especially when they don't care who's in front of it or under it.

      Caterpillar even supplies the IDF with bulldozers just for this purpose, which then get up-armored and sent into Palestinian civilian areas to do this (including unmanned versions).

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDF_Caterpillar_D9

      • AuthAuth 8 hours ago ago

        By the time the bulldozers are there civilians have long moved out of the area.

        • tpowell 4 minutes ago ago

          And then they bomb them in their tent cities while blocking aid, all while murdering hundreds of journalists so no one sees...

          Been watching it for years. A great stain on history, with weapons paid for and built by Americans, not to mention a complicit media.

        • johnnyApplePRNG 3 hours ago ago

          Rachel Corrie would like a word. [0]

          I suggest that you learn more about the Nakba, friend. [1]

          [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie

          [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba

          • yyyk an hour ago ago

            That's 2003. Really really relevant.

            • laimewhisps an hour ago ago

              Of course it's relevant. Regardless, there are many instances of Israel killing civilians with bulldozers in Gaza.

        • ImPostingOnHN 8 hours ago ago

          Interesting claim. Where did you hear that? The IDF is pretty infamous for crushing people alive with these bulldozers, and also for denying search & rescue access to find civilians buried in the wreckage (and also for just killing said SAR and hiding the bodies and lying about it*).

          * surprise, it was in Rafah, the city formerly located in the wasteland from the article we're discussing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafah_paramedic_massacre

        • porkshoe 3 hours ago ago

          Rachel Corrie was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer.

          Let's be clear and honest: Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians and they routinely murder civilians as part of this.

  • neom 9 hours ago ago

    If you want to compare before and after:

    https://earth.google.com/web/search/31%2e297226,+34%2e243649... - then click "show historical imagery" next to the search box.

  • wilburx3 9 hours ago ago

    The icons from what was there before are a haunting digital ghost. School, Restaurant, Pharmacy all the city is just rubble.

  • igleria 9 hours ago ago

    Atomic dome vibes when looking at some of the few buildings still standing

  • ChrisArchitect 8 hours ago ago

    non-X Google Maps link to ~location of screenshot: https://www.google.com/maps/@31.2857778,34.2533333,1010m

  • saturn_vk 8 hours ago ago

    It's sad that most world leaders do nothing to combat such genocide. There are so few sanctions against the state, or specific people, of Israel. Foreign forums are very much still open for business to them.

    • 762236 2 hours ago ago

      Do not forget that world leaders are heads of sovereign states that are in charge of their self defense. Those that actually have to defend themselves, like the US, rather than relying on strong allies, need to make public statements that are not hypocritical about what they would do for self defense. This is why both U.S. administrations support Israel's actions

      • dboreham 2 hours ago ago

        Pretty sure that's not why US administrations support Israel's actions.

        • 762236 an hour ago ago

          Bad phrasing on my part. That is one of many reasons

    • lenerdenator 5 hours ago ago

      1) Ultimately, money means more to foreign nations than what happens with internal affairs of their trading partners

      2) Accusations of genocide, whether they stand up or not, are great fodder for whataboutism discussions. Let's say the world's two largest economies, the US and China, decided to start sanctioning Israel for what's happening in Gaza. You could expect other countries to start threatening actions against the US and China over their previous or current genocidal behaviors. These are obviously not things that the US and China want to deal with.

    • bamboozled 3 hours ago ago

      What do you think world leaders should've done differently?

      • hedora an hour ago ago

        Send all collaborators to the international criminal court. (In the US, especially congress critters and members of the executive branch.)

        Also, blockade Israel proportionally to the Gaza blockades. I doubt they would have kept murdering red cross members in Gaza once the supermarkets started running out of food.

      • sdenton4 3 hours ago ago

        Cut off weapon gifts+sales to Israel, impose sanctions. Same way we dealt with the South African apartheid state.

        • dboreham 2 hours ago ago

          Israel has both nuclear weapons and the Epstein files, so that's not really an option (granted: SA had nuclear weapons too, but nobody really to drop them on).

          • almogo an hour ago ago

            Nuclear weapons sure, but what is this about Epstein?

      • thinkingtoilet 2 hours ago ago

        If you had to guess, what do you think they might do? I feel like questions like this are in bad faith. Think about it for a minute, and try to come up with some things that they might do.

      • skywhopper 3 hours ago ago

        The post you are responding to lists several possible actions. Another good start would be to stop providing the weapons that have done this damage.

  • modzu an hour ago ago

    jesus fucking christ

  • lenerdenator 9 hours ago ago

    Another one to look at is the maps of Ukraine [0]

    [0] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/google-maps-...

  • anramon 2 hours ago ago

    Comments filled with unsanctioned genocidal psychopaths as usual.

  • aerodog 3 hours ago ago

    Sergey Brin, who founded and owns most of Google with Larry Page, said recently (during the genocide) that he visited Ben Shapiro (genocide advocate) and had fun. They show these things in Google Maps, but don't forget that Google is not a 'neutral' company in this conflict.

    • thehappypm an hour ago ago

      This is not factually accurate to say they own most of Google, the most I’ve seen of the two of them combined owning presently is 12%

  • lwansbrough 2 hours ago ago

    People will tell you with a straight face that this isn't a genocide.

    What a lovely gift for Israel, funded by the people of the United States. Shameful.

  • ntkh 17 minutes ago ago

    That is fine! Putin demolished many more Ukrainian cities, and still, there are Hamas leaders coming to Moscow to shake hands with him and Lavrov