In Gaza City, new luxury cafes and restaurants have appeared among the ruins and piles of debris, featuring glass walls, expensive furniture, and bright lights. Images of these establishments have been circulated by pro-Israel social media accounts to suggest that life in Gaza has returned to normal and that no genocide occurred. However, eyewitness accounts describe a starkly different reality, where most residents struggle to survive amid destruction and displacement.

According to a recent visitor to Gaza City, these upscale venues are owned and frequented by war profiteers who became wealthy through smuggling, looting, and hoarding goods during the conflict. Ordinary citizens, once able to afford cafes, now face tripled food prices and unaffordable transport costs. Many families live in tents without electricity, clean water, or stable livelihoods.

Analysts cited in the report argue that the rise of such luxury spaces does not signal recovery but rather highlights deep social inequality and ongoing abnormality in Gaza’s shattered society.