Shaikh Zayed City damaged by Israeli airstrikes

Sabreen Al Hellouh points to her bed, covered in rubble. The 13-year-old narrowly missed getting hit by flying debris from a missile that came through the ceiling of her flat.

Before the three-week long Israeli offensive, Shaikh Zayed City, in Northern Gaza, was a relatively quiet and safe neighbourhood, contrasting sharply with the grey, unfinished buildings of nearby Ezba Beit Hanoun.

The housing complex was a gift to the people of Gaza from Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and was completed in 2005.

Khalid Al Ashag holds his young child and tells us about moving in here. "I've lived here for three years. It was all brand new, and there were trees everywhere. It was well planned out," he says. Like much of Gaza, it too has fallen victim to the recent attacks.

"Look at my bed," Sabreen says. Stuffed toys and school books are scattered on all over it, painted with a layer of dust and pieces of concrete.

She goes on to explain how a missile from an unmanned drone pierced the roof of her building, straight into her living room. The blast shattered the windows of the flat, sending glass and debris into her room. "I thought my brother had died," she says. "I was terrified." The family of five hid in the bedroom, as F16s flew over Shaikh Zayed City. From their top floor apart ment, they ran down the stairs out into the main courtyard only to see two more missile strikes nearby.

Her brother Talib takes us to the roof of the building. He points to a hole, a foot in diameter where the missile hit.

"Why did they attack here? People were just standing outside the mosque," he says pointing to the blue-domed Shaikh Zayed Mosque next to the building. Some of its windows were shattered in the explosions. The compound itself looks almost like a housing complex in Dubai. It has promenades lined with well-manicured bushes, and play areas for children.

Children follow us around, pointing to two missile craters in the ground, both next to building entrances.

Many left the housing complex during the attacks. But there were those who had nowhere to go.

"We stayed put," says Mahmoud Al Hajar, who owns a grocery here. "Of course we were frightened, by what were we supposed to do? There's no water or electricity."

Many of the outside walls are scarred with bullet holes from fierce gun battles.