Angelina Jolie uses Google Earth to expose Gaza destruction

Actor and former UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie on Saturday directed her Instagram followers to Google Earth to witness the extent of destruction across the Gaza Strip, sharing before-and-after satellite imagery comparing areas prior to the war with their current devastated state. "You can now open Google Earth and see what was done to Gaza," Jolie wrote alongside images showing vast rubble fields where dense urban neighborhoods once stood near the Al-Qadisiyah School in Rafah, Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and Omar Mukhtar Street in Gaza City.

Citing United Nations satellite analysis from June, she stated that 82% of structures in the enclave had sustained damage, with roughly two-thirds assessed as completely destroyed. "Whole neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble," she said, noting that the destruction encompassed homes, schools, universities, hospitals, roads, water systems and sanitation infrastructure.

Humanitarian needs mount

Jolie cited humanitarian data indicating that 1.98 million people — 94% of Gaza's population — require shelter assistance and essential items as winter approaches. "Aid and shelter materials continue to face restrictions and delays," she said, adding that the satellite images reveal physical devastation but cannot capture the human toll. "What it cannot show is what it means to live among it, what happened to the families who were killed, and what life is like for those who survived," she stated.

She called for immediate access for shelter materials, humanitarian assistance and medical supplies, urging conditions be established to allow Palestinians to rebuild. "The destruction is visible. The needs are known. What matters now is whether they are met," Jolie said.

Conflict toll

Jolie served as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and then Special Envoy for UNHCR for over two decades until 2022. Since October 2023, Israel's war in Gaza — which has drawn international condemnation over its civilian toll — has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured over 175,000 others, while also destroying about 90% of the enclave's infrastructure, according to Palestinian figures.