After Gaza Images Got Unclassified, Misbar Tracked Military Sites in Gaza and Their Development

The Israeli government’s official public mapping website, “GovMap,” has revealed parts of the northern and eastern areas of the Gaza Strip in high-resolution aerial imagery dating to 2025, after these areas had previously been obscured.

The Israeli occupation forces told The Times of Israel that they were reviewing and examining the images, while it remained unclear whether the appearance of these areas without obscuring was the result of a change in the website’s policy or an error.

What Do the Unobscured Aerial Images Reveal?

In the areas where the obscuring has been removed, the imagery reveals the extent of the widespread destruction that has affected Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Shuja’iyya. Entire residential blocks and neighbourhoods can be seen heavily damaged and levelled to the ground, reflecting the scale of destruction inflicted on infrastructure and residential areas there, alongside a network of roads and routes that have been opened and bulldozed through these areas.

The imagery also shows at least nine military sites and positions in the areas where the obscuring has been removed, as well as positions where vehicles and armoured vehicles appear to be deployed and stationed, in addition to areas located within the “Yellow Line” zone.

The images reveal a variety of structures and equipment within these sites, including small buildings, warehouses and tents, as well as military equipment and communications towers. Earthen berms can also be seen surrounding the sites, while other locations contain vehicles, equipment and dozens of armoured vehicles, alongside dirt tracks and roads that appear to be intended for the movement of vehicles and access to deployment positions.

In this report, Misbar’s team at Alaraby TV uses satellite imagery captured by the Sentinel-2 satellite to track the timeline of the appearance of these sites and positions, monitor the changes that have occurred and their stages of development, and identify the periods during which signs of their construction first began to emerge.

At the same time, the nature of the structures or equipment currently located at these sites cannot be determined precisely based on the available Sentinel-2 imagery, which also does not allow for a definitive conclusion as to whether the equipment visible in the Israeli government map images was subsequently removed or relocated. The latest aerial images, captured on September 21, show that these sites remain visible.

Tracking Military Sites Over Time Through Satellite Imagery

Around the city of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, Misbar’s team identified four sites whose features remain visible in the latest available imagery and tracked the changes that have occurred there and the stages at which they emerged.

The first site is located north of Izbat Beit Hanoun. Satellite imagery tracking shows changes in the nature of the land within the site that became clearly visible during the second month of the Israeli war on Gaza. These changes coincided with bulldozing activity whose features can be seen in the imagery, although the visual evidence alone does not establish whether this activity was related to preparations for establishing the site.

The changes and preparation work continued throughout 2024 and 2025, alongside the emergence of a network of newly established and prepared roads and dirt tracks around the site.

The second site is located north of Beit Hanoun. Its features began to become clear in February 2025, after bulldozing activity had been observed around it during 2024.

The third site is located east of Beit Hanoun. Images from late January 2025 showed indications of bulldozing and ground preparation around the site before its features became clearer in February of the same year, as bulldozing extended into the surrounding areas.

The fourth site was also identified east of Beit Hanoun. Its features began to become clear during 2025, alongside the construction of roads and dirt tracks and bulldozing activity around it. These activities continued in the following months of the same year.

Moving to the Jabalia area, the latest imagery shows that the features of a military site or position there remain visible, although it is not possible to verify whether the structures or equipment previously seen there are still present.

Image analysis showed clear changes at the site during November 2023, approximately one month after the start of the Israeli war on Gaza. However, the images alone do not establish whether these changes resulted from Israeli airstrikes targeting the area or from bulldozing and ground preparation work associated with establishing the site.

These changes continued in subsequent images, until the site’s features became more clearly visible in February 2025, alongside the appearance of a road leading to it. There were also indications that bulldozing activity around the site continued in the following months.

Approximately one kilometre south of this site, another site can be seen that remains in place in the latest available imagery. Images from late March 2024 showed clear indications that bulldozing had begun around it, alongside the construction of newly established dirt roads. These activities continued in images captured over the following months.

Around Gaza City, Misbar’s team identified several sites. East of the city, the team observed a difference in the appearance of one site between the latest available image and its appearance on the Israeli government map. By comparing the surrounding geographical features, the team determined that the two locations were identical, indicating that changes had occurred at the site during the subsequent period.

To verify developments at the site, Misbar’s team tracked earlier satellite imagery, particularly images from 2025 that showed bulldozing and construction activity. Comparing them with the Israeli government map made it possible to match several infrastructure features, including the road alignment and what appear to be tracks left by the wheels of heavy vehicles, supporting the conclusion that the site subsequently underwent further work and changes.

Misbar’s team also identified another site east of the city that is not fully shown on the Israeli government map, as part of it falls within the obscured area. The team was able to determine its location based on features visible in the available imagery, which show that it remains in place in the latest available image.

Satellite imagery shows clear changes in the nature of the land surrounding the site in December 2023. These changes continued in subsequent images, until the site’s features became more clearly visible in 2025, alongside the appearance of newly established dirt roads around it.

Also east of Gaza City, another site can be seen whose features remain clear in the latest available image.

Image tracking showed that the newly established road around the site began to appear in late December 2023, while construction of the earthen berm surrounding it began in late January 2025. Preparation work continued throughout the same year.

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