Three years after the Hamas attack: how October 7 changed Israel, Gaza and the entire Middle East
Kyiv • UNN
Israel is commemorating the victims of the October 7, 2023 attack after bringing all the hostages back. The war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis have not ended.
On October 7, 2026, Israel commemorates the victims of the attack by Hamas and other Palestinian groups, which became the deadliest day in the country's history. The 2023 attack claimed the lives of approximately 1,200 people, while militants took another 251 people hostage and transported them to the Gaza Strip.
Three years later, all the hostages—alive and deceased—have been returned to Israel, but the war caused by the attack has not, in fact, ended. UNN explains how its consequences continue to shape the situation in Israel, Gaza, and the entire region.
What happened on October 7, 2023
On the morning of October 7, 2023, at around 6:30 a.m., a massive rocket barrage against Israel began from the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Hamas militants and allied groups breached the border barriers and infiltrated Israeli territory by land, sea, and air. They attacked border kibbutzim, cities, military facilities, and the Nova music festival near Re'im. Approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack. A total of 251 people, including civilians, military personnel, and foreigners, were taken to Gaza.
The attack was the largest single-day loss of life in Israel's history and triggered a major political and social crisis over the failure of the security system and the state's inability to stop the attack in time.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas and launched a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. Its stated objectives were to eliminate Hamas's military and political infrastructure, return the hostages, and remove the threat of a repeat of the October 7 attack.
Why the hostage issue became the most painful
The hostage issue remained one of the most important concerns for Israeli society for more than two years. Some people were released during ceasefire and exchange agreements, some were rescued during military operations, and the bodies of those who had died were returned to Israel throughout the war.
On January 26, 2026, the Israeli military announced the return of the body of the last hostage—a 24-year-old police officer, Ran Gvili, who was killed in combat on October 7, 2023. His remains were found after a special operation in the northern Gaza Strip. Thus, only 843 days after the attack, all the living and deceased hostages were returned to their homeland. Therefore, the third anniversary of the attack became the first that Israel commemorated without people remaining captive in Gaza.
The war in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis
Israel's campaign in the Gaza Strip became one of the most destructive wars in the region in recent decades. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since the hostilities began. A significant portion of the enclave's buildings was destroyed or seriously damaged. Most of its approximately two million residents were forced to leave their homes.
In October 2025, through U.S. mediation, the parties agreed to a ceasefire. It made it possible to return the hostages, increase the volume of humanitarian aid, and reduce the intensity of the fighting. However, the war in the region did not end there. As of October 2026, Israel continues to control more than 60% of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas retains influence over the rest of the enclave. Israeli strikes and Hamas operations continue.
According to Reuters, more than 1,400 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire took effect.
In addition, the reconstruction of Gaza has still not begun. The main political dispute remains the issue of Hamas's disarmament: Israel insists that it will not relinquish military control without the group's complete disarmament, while Hamas does not agree to the proposed terms and demands an end to Israeli strikes. The humanitarian situation also remains difficult. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, from mid-April to the end of June 2026, more than 1.2 million Gaza residents experienced acute food insecurity at the "crisis" level or worse. The UN forecast indicated that between July and December, the number of such people could rise to 1.4 million.
How Israel commemorates the third anniversary of the Hamas attack
On the morning of October 7, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife lit a memorial candle at 6:29 a.m.—the time when the attack began three years ago. Throughout the day, memorial events are being held in communities in the south of the country, near the sites of the mass killings, in cemeteries, and at the Nova festival site. Separate events were also held near the Knesset.
Families of those killed, former hostages, and civic activists continue to demand an independent investigation into the actions of state institutions before and during the attack. The issue of the authorities' responsibility remains one of the central issues in Israel's domestic politics ahead of the parliamentary elections.
Three years that changed the region
The October 7 attack and the war in Gaza became a turning point after which the conflict extended far beyond the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation. Fighting spread to Israel's border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah entered the conflict; the confrontation between Israel and Iran intensified; and the Houthis in Yemen began attacking shipping and targets linked to Israel and its allies.
Three years after the attack, the main questions that arose in the autumn of 2023 remain unresolved. Israel has returned all the hostages but has not achieved the complete disarmament of Hamas. More than 60% of the Gaza Strip remains under the control of Israeli forces, a significant part of the enclave has been destroyed, and there is still no political settlement that would determine the future of the Strip and a broader Palestinian-Israeli settlement.