For decades, the small harbor at Gaza City was one of the few places where residents could breathe. Fishermen hauled in sardines before dawn, families strolled along the breakwater in the evening, and cafés overlooking the Mediterranean offered a rare sense of normal life in a territory sealed off by land and sea. Today, much of that harbor is rubble. Boats lie capsized or splintered, concrete piers have collapsed into the water, and the buildings that once housed fish markets and seaside restaurants have been reduced to broken walls, according to footage gathered by Al Jazeera's Maram Humaid.

The destruction of the port is not an isolated event but part of a broader pattern documented since Israel's military campaign in Gaza began in October 2023, following the Hamas-led attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Israeli officials have said strikes on coastal and urban infrastructure are aimed at dismantling militant networks that, they argue, operate from civilian areas, including fishing zones used for smuggling. Palestinian officials and residents counter that the scale of destruction, which United Nations agencies estimate has damaged or destroyed the majority of buildings across Gaza, points to something far broader than targeted military necessity. For fishermen like those who once worked from Gaza City's port, the loss carries both economic and symbolic weight.

Fishing supported thousands of families and supplied a cheap source of protein in a population facing acute food shortages. With boats destroyed and access to the sea heavily restricted by Israeli naval patrols even before the war, that livelihood has effectively disappeared for many.