Photo Of Gaza From Space: Harsh Reminder Of The True Scale Of Violence In Region [Photo]
The conflict in Gaza has gotten so big that it can actually be seen from space. In a startling photo released by the International Space Station astronaut Alexander Gerst, an image of the Isreal- Gaza region can be seen lighting up from all of the blasts occurring in the region. Gerst tweeted the photo calling it “the saddest photo yet.”
My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel pic.twitter.com/jNGWxHilSy
— Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) July 23, 2014
As the caption on the photo reads, “My saddest photo yet. From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel,” you can see the full scale of the conflict taking over the Gaza region.
The death toll in Hamas increases daily with more than 680 people dying in the Gaza Strip in just one fortnight, a quarter of them children, with 3,700 injured, according to The Independent. Thirty-two Israelis have been killed since the operation against Hamas begun, all but two of them soldiers.
The conflict has escalated with a United Nations school the latest target in Gaza. When the school was hit, at least 15 children were killed. Israel talked of a ceasefire yesterday, but as the image shows, that has yet to happen. Israel’s offensive into Gaza, which began in response to rockets fired from Hamas, continues unabated with devastating consequences that are reaching all the way to space.
This image was taken, according to Bustle, from 200 miles above Earth. In the photo you can see the orange glow of explosions in Gaza and Israel, as reporter Nuzha Nuseibeh says, it is “heart-wrenching and horrifying, of course, yet somehow eerily beautiful, too.”
The photo is going viral as the world hopes for the conflict in Gaza to end. In fact, tens of thousands around the world have shared the image as international pressure grows to stop the bloodshed in Gaza. The United Nations is condemning both Israel and the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars by the Islamist movement Hamas into Israel.
With neither side backing down, it appears the conflict will continue. Sadly we can expect the death toll to continue to rise until an agreement or resolution is met. The photo taken from the International Space Station is, for many, a harsh reminder of the true scale of violence in the region.
Does the startling photo of Gaza from space put the war in the region into a different perspective for you? Did you ever imagine that the conflict could be seen from space?
