Aerial footage of Gaza filmed by the Independent newspaper’s Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew and shared with the BBC shows parts of Gaza almost entirely in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli bombardment and military ground incursions.
Trew told the BBC she took the footage while on a military flight dropping food into the territory and could see “absolute destruction” as far as the horizon. She described the scene as “chilling”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel now intends to take control of the whole of Gaza, but does “not want to keep it”.
The UN has warned the move could risk “catastrophic” consequences for the Palestinians of Gaza, most of whom have already been displaced multiple times, and families of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza fear it could endanger their loved ones.
