Narrator: If you look at recent satellite pictures of Gaza's coastline, you can see the outline of a once-thriving hotel and restaurant industry. Before and after images show a beachfront transformed into a sea of tents. A busy port that provided income for 10% of Gaza's population: empty. Now, people are more likely to catch fish that falls from the sky. Narrator: People who lived and worked on this part of the Mediterranean coast for generations are afraid they may never be able to return and rebuild. Narrator: There have been grand plans for Gaza's coast before, and even now, amid the destruction, it is a coveted slice of land. Gaza's waterfront property, it could be very valuable if people would focus on building up livelihoods. Narrator: We talked to fishermen, business owners, and their families, and then zoomed out to see exactly how their beloved coastline has been transformed and if there is any chance they will get it back.

The port in Gaza City was once the center of the local fishing industry. About 4,000 fishermen worked along the coast, providing food for many more in a place where most people relied on humanitarian aid. Israel has controlled access to the enclave since the Six-Day War in 1967, except for a short border with Egypt in the south. In recent decades, it has increasingly sealed the Gaza Strip off from the outside world. Even access to the sea, Gaza's only window on the wider world, is under Israeli military control. Narrator: When we first met Ahmad Abu Hamada in 2020, fishermen like him were not allowed to go farther than 6 nautical miles from the coast — far enough to find sardines and shrimp, but not much more. Narrator: In the fall of 2023, Ahmad was catching just enough to get by. Then, on October 7th,

the militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing more than 1,000 people and taking hundreds of hostages. Israel began bombing targets across Gaza, including the port. After October 11th, satellite images showed a gaping hole in the seawall. And two weeks later, we could make out these impact craters. The hundreds of boats visible before the war were almost entirely gone or sunk. Less than a week after the war started, the Israeli military ordered almost half of Gaza's 2.3 million people to evacuate to the south, including Ahmad, the fisherman. We tracked him down to a large makeshift camp close to the Egyptian border where he was sheltering with his wife and five children. When we spoke to Ahmad on a video call, he said his family had lost all their fishing equipment and boats, worth about $150,000. Narrator: Fishermen who do dare to go to sea, even in shallow waters,

now risk being shot by Israeli patrol boats or helicopters. Israel says it targets boats it suspects of transporting weapons for Hamas. But according to local authorities, 90% of Gaza's fishing boats were destroyed within a couple of months of the start of the war. Narrator: Tourism in Gaza has also been torn apart. Before the start of this latest war, there were high hopes for the luxury-hotel industry. This was Gaza's first five-star hotel, less than 2 miles up the coast from the port. It cost $45 million to build in 2011, boasting marble floors, five restaurants, and swimming pools. Satellite images show it in ruins. Narrator: The only visitors to the area today are people searching for food, like Mohammad al-Halabi. Narrator: Each parachute can carry over 1,000 pounds of aid, but that can turn deadly. Narrator: Less than a mile away from the beach,

Mohammad's neighborhood, Al-Maqousi Towers, is also in ruins. Narrator: This is all that's left of his personal office. Mohammad was a graphic designer for Al-Israa University. Israel blew it up in a massive controlled explosion, saying Hamas used the building for military activities. Narrator: Even with the aid drops, not enough supplies have been getting through. And Mohammad says people here have resorted to eating leaves and even animal feed. Before the war, decades of tight restrictions imposed by Israel pushed some of Gaza's fishermen onto land. These dark circles are pools full of fish — or at least they were. We met one of the owners of this fish farm in 2020. He showed us around the farm and the restaurant next door. With 70 workers, the farm produced 30 metric tons of fish every month, mostly sea bream. Narrator: But two days after the bombing started,

Israel shut off Gaza's electricity. The pumps and filters at the farm stopped working. All the fish died. Today, the pools are dry, and satellite images show the farm is now at the center of a large improvised camp for hundreds of displaced families. Hassan fled to Egypt four months after the war started. He and his business partners say they have lost around $15 million. Some family members stayed behind to keep an eye on the farm. Narrator: This is Mousa Zo'orob, a brother of one of the owners. The farm's solar panels are mostly gone. The structures are now used to build shelters or simply dry laundry. Narrator: Hassan's sea bream was served at seaside restaurants and hotels by the port in Gaza's most affluent neighborhood, Al-Rimal. The area was heavily bombarded at the start of the war, and then the Israeli military flattened large sections with bulldozers as part of their hunt for Hamas strongholds.

Zones shaded in red were either damaged or destroyed. These include the portside Al-Hassaina Mosque, one of the most famous in Gaza; Al-Azhar University; and Al-Shifa Hospital, which Israel claimed was sheltering a Hamas command center. On October 27th, 2023, a missile landed close to Al Salam Restaurant, one of Gaza's oldest, blowing out windows and collapsing the roof. Narrator: This restaurant has been in Mahmoud Abu Haseira's family for generations. He says his business suffered more than $5 million in damage. Narrator: When we located Mahmoud, he had fled south to a camp in Al-Qarara. By that point, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 40,000 Palestinians had been killed in the war. And the fighting seemed to be following him. [explosion] Just as we were filming, a bomb landed a few miles away.

Narrator: He moved south to look for work while his wife and young son remained in northern Gaza. But Israel has since blocked access, and he hasn't seen his family or his restaurant for months. Narrator: His only connection to them is the unreliable cellphone network. Narrator: Rebuilding has always been a feature of Gaza's history. This slice of strategic coast has been fought over for millennia. It was a major trading hub — Napoleon called it the outpost of Africa and the door to Asia. Pilgrims flocked to the region to visit the holy sites, and tourists were drawn to the beaches. Even Australian troops stationed in Gaza during World War II enjoyed the beach. Newsreel: News from Palestine. Wherever Australians go, there you will find a surf carnival if it's humanly possible to have one, and it certainly seems possible at Gaza. Narrator: Tourism has disappeared over the past decades,

but there are still riches to be found here. Gaza and Israel both border the Levant Basin Province, which holds a wealth of oil and gas reserves. Gaza Marine, a store of natural gas worth $4.5 billion, is recognized as being in Palestinian waters, just 20 miles off the coast of Gaza. It holds enough gas to supply electricity to the strip for years. But since it was discovered in 2000, repeated conflicts have stalled negotiations, and Gazans have not been able to access this lucrative natural resource. More recently, Israel drew up plans for an artificial island 3 miles off Gaza's shore with an airport, seaport, and power plant designed to benefit both Israel and the Palestinians. Announcer: Construction of an artificial island with a port and civilian infrastructure installations off the coast of Gaza will provide the Palestinians a humanitarian, economic, and transportation gateway to the world.

without endangering Israel's security. Narrator: But the project was shelved the same year because of security concerns. The future is something that most Gazans can't imagine. The present — and the daily search for food and water — takes priority. Food and aid deliveries by land have often been blocked from entering Gaza. These images show long lines of trucks at a standstill in Egypt, waiting to cross the border while their cargo is left to rot. The US looked at the coastline for a solution and constructed a temporary floating pier in April to deliver aid by sea at a cost of more than $300 million. But as satellite images show, it was damaged by heavy seas. In the end, the pier was only operational for 20 days. Meanwhile, Gazans have been constantly on the move, trying to stay one step ahead of the fighting. The UN says that nine out of 10 people in Gaza have been displaced at least once.

A constantly shifting sea of improvised camps has sprawled across the strip, with no running water or electricity. As yet, there are no official plans on the table for post-war Gaza. These images show a sci-fi vision of a Gaza of the future, with skyscrapers, rail lines, and industrial zones rising from the ashes. The renderings were published in an Israeli newspaper in May 2024 and attributed to Netanyahu, but no one has claimed responsibility for them. The UN says it will take $40 to $50 billion and decades to rebuild Gaza — the biggest post-war reconstruction effort since World War II. Many Gazans say they fear the coastline they once knew, along with their businesses, is gone for good.

Mapping Gaza’s Coastline, Before And After | Insider Docs | Business Insider

What you want to know about business. 

Visit our homepage for the top stories of the day: https://www.businessinsider.com 
Business Insider on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/businessinsider
Business Insider on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insiderbusiness
Business Insider on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/businessinsider
Business Insider on Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/discover/Business_Insider/5319643143
Business Insider on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@businessinsider

If you have a permissions or licensing request, please connect with our partners at PARS International who will be able to provide you with an accurate quote for the overall usage rights that you’re interested in. A representative from PARS will contact you shortly after filling out this request form: https://www.parsintl.com/publications/insider/


Mapping Gaza’s Coastline, Before And After | Insider Docs | Business Insider

Scripts