Three Years of War: How Israel's Campaign Has Fundamentally Transformed Gaza

Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli military strikes on Gaza City, October 6, 2026 [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo]. Three years after Israel launched its 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 while severely damaging essential infrastructure and services. The war has shattered the lives of a population of around two million people, with repeated displacement and evacuation orders uprooting families. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 74,245 Palestinians have been killed.

Although a “ceasefire” was announced in October 2025, it has not brought an end to the suffering. The Ministry of Health reports that 1,462 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect, as Israeli attacks and military activity have persisted across the Strip. Years of conflict have caused the collapse of education, healthcare, and the economy, leaving access to food, water, shelter, and basic necessities as a daily struggle.

Surviving Daily Life

For people in Gaza, the war has altered not only where they live, but how they carry out ordinary daily tasks. Basic infrastructure such as a home, running water, electricity, and transport largely no longer exists. According to UN data from September, 94 percent of Gaza’s population remained in urgent need of shelter and basic household assistance, with 65 percent living in tents or makeshift shelters after being forced from their homes.

Water insecurity has also intensified, with 91 percent of assessed households experiencing moderate-to-high water shortages in early August, compared to 84 percent in June. The absence of a functioning electricity grid leaves households and essential services dependent on generators and scarce fuel. Damaged roads and communications networks further hinder transport, internet access, and basic services, forcing daily life to revolve around survival tasks like collecting water, charging phones, and cooking.

Economic Grief

Gaza’s economy has suffered catastrophic damage, with businesses and local industries destroyed, leaving families with minimal income and reduced purchasing power. The UN Conference on Trade and Development estimated in September that 92 percent of Gaza’s economic establishments had been damaged or destroyed since October 2023, while unemployment reached 78 percent. GDP per capita dropped to $212 in 2025, and prices remained around 200 percent above pre-October 2023 levels.

As jobs have vanished, economic activity has increasingly shifted toward humanitarian aid, debt, and informal work. Economic researcher Rami al-Zaygh noted that the war has pushed society back decades, reviving old professions and fostering new types of work using basic tools. Many families now rely heavily on cash assistance or digital payments and e-wallets as physical cash becomes scarce.

Struggle to Study

The education sector has faced severe disruption, with nearly 98 percent of schools damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF. As of April 2026, about 700,000 children aged 4 to 17 had missed nearly three consecutive years of in-person education, with many learning instead in tents and temporary spaces, while 200,000 children have no access to education at all. The Palestinian Ministry of Education has warned of a critical loss of basic skills and an expanding academic gap across an entire generation.

Healthcare Decimated

Gaza’s health system is near collapse. According to the World Health Organization, all 36 of Gaza’s hospitals have sustained damage, and only 19 are partially functioning, grappling with severe shortages of medicine, equipment, and fuel. Since October 2023, approximately 12,400 patients have been medically evacuated, though the WHO states tens of thousands more require specialized care outside the Strip. Overcrowding and poor sanitation have further heightened the risk of disease outbreaks.

A Shrinking Space

Israeli military control and access restrictions have divided the territory, confining more than two million Palestinians to less than 30 percent of the Gaza Strip by September, according to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. The expansion of military demarcation lines, such as the Yellow Line established under the October 2025 ceasefire, and operations in cities like Rafah have deepened forced displacement, leaving residents unable to return to their homes.

Security and Governance

The war has severely degraded Gaza's civilian administration and public order. While Hamas announced in July its intention to hand administrative powers to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the transition has not yet occurred. Concurrently, attacks on police officers and security posts—such as those documented by the UN Human Rights Office—have created a security vacuum, leading to increased looting of humanitarian aid, kidnappings, and attacks on property, leaving the population facing deep uncertainty with no clear path forward.