Snapchat maps reveal real-time disparity between Gaza and Tel Aviv before Israel-Palestine ceasefire

Snapchat maps became a real-time portal into the conflict in Gaza this past week, with residents recording and uploading live clips of rockets and billowing clouds of smoke onto the app.

The video-sharing platform has a function where users can search for videos by location, so anyone from anywhere in the world could see the distinct difference between the videos of people’s experiences in Gaza and Tel Aviv uploaded in the same 24 hour time period.

While users in Tel Aviv were seen watching television uploading pictures of life as normal, videos from Gaza depicted the neighbourhoods destroyed from rocket fire.

Palestinian users said it became a vital platform to show the world what was happening, as Instagram was found removing posts and accounts without warning at the beginning of the month.

It comes as a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip has come into effect, following 11 days of fighting in which more than 250 people were killed – most of them Palestinian.

Mohammed is a graphic designer in Gaza who used Snapchat to share his experience. “This week we were feeling afraid because we heard the sounds of bombing around our house,” he told i over Snapchat. “I was terrified when I was the flames and clouds of smoke.”

He said he loves Snapchat because it allows users to take live pictures and videos of what is going on and lets him reach the largest number of viewers because of the built-in maps function.

i saw through the maps function that Mohammed’s images and videos have reached 231,000 people.

“People are searching for the truth because of the Facebook and Instagram policy that restricts Palestinian content,” he added.

Salman shared an video of the aftermath of Israeli bombing on Snapchat and with i.

A large dark grey cloud of smoke is seen pouring out of a building in the distance.

“Telephone lines and internet have been attacked,” he said.

Palestinian residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, claimed by Jewish settlers, shared their experiences on social media earlier this month to protest but some found their posts, photos or videos removed or their accounts blocked.

By Monday, 7amleh, a nonprofit organisation focused on social media, received more than 200 complaints about deleted posts and suspended accounts related to Sheikh Jarrah, Reuters reported.

Fighting between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza began on 10 May after clashes with the Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during Ramadan, when Muslim worshippers protested at heavy-handed tactics used by the Israeli authorities.

Dozens of Palestinian families were also threatened with evictions from Sheikh Jarrah – a Palestinian neighbourhood outside the walls of the Old City – by Jewish settlers.

Hamas began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, after which Israel responded with retaliatory air strikes.

At least 243 people, including more than 100 women and children, were killed in Gaza, according to its health ministry.

In Israel 12 people, including two children, were killed, according to its medical services.

It comes as images of Gaza were blurry on Google Maps for unknown reasons, hindering researchers from locating which areas have faced attacks and analysing the destruction.

The site said it aims to “keep densely populated places refreshed on a regular basis”, but researchers highlighted this was not the case for Gaza and Israel.

Higher-quality images were available from other satellite image providers.

“Considering the importance of current events, I see no reason why commercial imagery of this area should continue to be deliberately degraded,” said Bellingcat investigations journalist Nick Waters.