A year of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants has left the Gaza Strip in ruins, levelling entire neighbourhoods and destroying large swaths of farms across the Palestinian enclave. Gaza City, the power seat of Hamas's rule for the past 16 years, has arguably seen most of the destitution, especially the city's eastern and southern neighbourhoods. Explosions lit up the night sky over Beirut in the early hours of Sunday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon. Powerful new and consecutive explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburbs.