How three years of Israel’s genocidal war have changed Gaza
Maram Humaid writes in Al Jazeera on 7 Oct 2026:
Three years after Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Palestinian enclave has been transformed beyond recognition. Israel’s sustained aerial and ground assault has devastated vast parts of the Gaza Strip, destroying homes and neighbourhoods and severely damaging its infrastructure and essential services.
The war has shattered the lives of a population of around two million people. Repeated displacement and evacuation orders have uprooted families and communities, while more than 74,245 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Although a “ceasefire” was announced in October 2025, it has not brought an end to the suffering. The Ministry of Health says 1,462 Palestinians have been killed since the “ceasefire” took effect, while Israeli attacks and other military activity have continued across the Strip.
Years of war have brought the collapse of education, healthcare and the economy, while access to food, water, shelter and other basic necessities has become a daily struggle.
Surviving daily life
For people in Gaza, the war has changed not only where they live, but how they carry out the most ordinary parts of daily life.
A home, running water, electricity and a mode of transport – the basic infrastructure of everyday life – no longer exist for many Palestinians in Gaza.