An abandoned airport in Palestine once served as a symbol of peace. Now, its ruins remain frozen in time — take a look.

Monica HumphriesAug 26, 2023, 17:16 IST

The Yasser Arafat International Airport once stood as a symbol of independence. Today, just crumbling skeletons of the airport remain.SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

The Yasser Arafat International Airport served Palestine's Gaza Strip for less than two years.
By 2002, the airport was in ruins. Israel bombed the site's control tower, runway, and terminal.

In 1998, the Yasser Arafat International Airport in Palestine stood as a symbol of independence.

Today, it stands in ruins.

Daifallah al-Akhras, the chief engineer of the airport, told The Times of Israel that he wept on a visit to the abandoned airport.

"We built the airport to be the first symbol of sovereignty," he told the news outlet. "Now you don't see anything but destruction and ruin."

Take a look inside the airport's short-lived history.

The Yasser Arafat International Airport was more than just an airport. According to Travel and Leisure, it stood as a symbol of sovereignty and peace for the Palestinians.

A view of the abandoned Yasser Arafat International Airport.SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

The Yasser Arafat International Airport was more than just an airport. According to Travel and Leisure, it stood as a symbol of sovereignty and peace for the Palestinians.

Opened in 1998, the airport was built in Palestine's southern city of Rafah and served the 1.8 million people of Gaza, according to NPR.

An arrow points to the abandoned airport on a map.Google Maps

Countries around the globe — Egypt, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Germany, and others — financed its creation, and then-US President Bill Clinton attended the airport's opening, NPR reported.

Palestinian policemen pray in front of Yasser Arafat International Airport on October 27, 1998.FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

Countries around the globe — Egypt, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Germany, and others — financed its creation, and then-US President Bill Clinton attended the airport's opening, NPR reported.

But the airport's life was short-lived. On October 7, 2000, flights were halted, Al Jazeera reported. And when the second Palestinian uprising, or intifada, broke out, the airport was left in ruins.

A person walks on the ruins of the airport.SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

But the airport's life was short-lived. On October 7, 2000, flights were halted, Al Jazeera reported. And when the second Palestinian uprising, or intifada, broke out, the airport was left in ruins.

In 2001, Israel bombed the airport in response to Palestine's militant attacks on Israelis in the West Bank, NPR reported.

The destroyed and deserted terminal of the Gaza Strip's former Yasser Arafat International Airport.Val_Yankin/Shutterstock

Years later, Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza, and the price of construction materials skyrocketed, NPR reported. Locals scoured the airport, collected the site's remaining materials, and recycled it for profit.

Skeletons of the airport's buildings remain.SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

Years later, Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza, and the price of construction materials skyrocketed, NPR reported. Locals scoured the airport, collected the site's remaining materials, and recycled it for profit.

Today, all that remains is a crumbling skeleton of the airport.

Palestinian policemen inspect one of the helicopters destroyed during an Israeli army attack in 2001.AYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

Left behind are the tiles from mosaic walls designed by Moroccan architects in the 1990s, according to the Daily Mail.

The crumbling Yasser Arafat International Airport.Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Remnants of a now-forgotten runway are littered with trash and debris.

The site is now covered in trash and debris.Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

A large missile hole can be spotted in a golden dome, which was once home to the former VIP terminal.

A missile hole can be spotted in the airport's former VIP terminal.SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

Today, the site remains quiet. No planes have taken off from or landed at the airport for nearly 20 years, The Times of Israel reported.

The abandoned airport at sunset.Val_Yankin/Shutterstock

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An abandoned airport in Palestine once served as a symbol of peace. Now, its ruins remain frozen in time &mdash; take a look.

The Yasser Arafat International Airport was more than just an airport. According to Travel and Leisure, it stood as a symbol of sovereignty and peace for the Palestinians.

Opened in 1998, the airport was built in Palestine's southern city of Rafah and served the 1.8 million people of Gaza, according to NPR.

Countries around the globe — Egypt, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Germany, and others — financed its creation, and then-US President Bill Clinton attended the airport's opening, NPR reported.

But the airport's life was short-lived. On October 7, 2000, flights were halted, Al Jazeera reported. And when the second Palestinian uprising, or intifada, broke out, the airport was left in ruins.

In 2001, Israel bombed the airport in response to Palestine's militant attacks on Israelis in the West Bank, NPR reported.

Years later, Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza, and the price of construction materials skyrocketed, NPR reported. Locals scoured the airport, collected the site's remaining materials, and recycled it for profit.

Today, all that remains is a crumbling skeleton of the airport.

Left behind are the tiles from mosaic walls designed by Moroccan architects in the 1990s, according to the Daily Mail.

Remnants of a now-forgotten runway are littered with trash and debris.

A large missile hole can be spotted in a golden dome, which was once home to the former VIP terminal.

Today, the site remains quiet. No planes have taken off from or landed at the airport for nearly 20 years, The Times of Israel reported.

An abandoned airport in Palestine once served as a symbol of peace. Now, its ruins remain frozen in time — take a look.