Returning to Gaza, German Election ‘Vote-O-Mat’, and the Superpower Race to the Arctic

There has been no shortage of news since our last column, giving data teams a wide variety of topics to explore. Aviation accidents and the opening salvos of President Donald Trump’s planned trade warfare made headlines globally. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the next phases of the ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, as well as the return of Palestinians to the devastated areas, have been widely covered. This edition of our Top 10 in Data Journalism, which considered stories between January 27 and February 14, also highlights an analysis of the ideological positions of German political parties; a cross-border investigation into the shadow fleet transporting sanctioned Russian oil; an analysis of the homes that survived the Los Angeles fires; and a special on the security of four-digit passwords.

Returning to Gaza, in Maps

In Jabalia, an immense Gaza refugee camp where more than 110,000 people lived before the war, the population is now around 35,000 residents. The five schools in the area are being used as shelters
Image: Screenshot, El País

In recent weeks, we have seen images of thousands of Palestinians on foot returning to their homes in the Gaza Strip. The movement is part of the first phase of the ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which is expected to last about six weeks and includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of Gaza and the return of displaced Palestinians to their places of origin. In this visual special report, El País showed how the demographics of the area changed after the Israeli invasion and how they are expected to change again with the return of Palestinians. It included maps of the routes and aerial images of the pilgrimage, as well as satellite images of the places to which the refugees are returning, which highlight the unprecedented destruction. According to the report, before the start of the war more than half of the territory’s population lived in its northern regions — around 1.1 million people. To escape the war, it is estimated that more than 650,000 of these people fled south and now, according to UN estimates, more than 200,000 Gazans are expected to return.

Trump’s Trade War

Image: Screenshot, Financial Times

US President Donald Trump had been back in office only a few days before issuing trade policy threats that sparked international upheaval. Among them were a barrage of 25% tariffs on many imports from Canada and Mexico, an additional 10% levy on China, and a 25% tariff rate on aluminum and steel imports — purportedly to counter threats from migration and fentanyl shipments into the US. Canada and Mexico secured a temporary reprieve, but Trump’s trade war plans threaten to disrupt many industries and markets, including in the US. (Trump also had to backtrack on his plan for expanding tariffs to include small packages from China, after it became clear it would be too disruptive.) In this piece, the Financial Times provided an analysis of the impact of a trade war on North America. It presented data and graphs on the percentage of all US imports of goods in the three countries and other key nations; an interactive on what goods the US imports from Mexico, China, and Canada; and a look at which industries would be most affected by the new tariffs. According to the FT, car manufacturers, food producers, and construction would be the worst hit — and consumers across Canada, Mexico, and the US would suffer.

Aircraft Collision Over the Potomac River

The New York Times recreated the 3D cockpit view from the US Army helicopter in the moments leading up to its collision with American Airlines flight 5342. Image: Screenshot, The New York Times

On the night of January 29, an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army helicopter collided in midair near Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, and crashed into the Potomac River. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed. To understand what happened, The New York Times created a 3D model recreating the helicopter pilots’ field of vision and simulating th