Ruins, displacement and struggle to survive
Three years after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered a devastating war in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave has been transformed in ways that reach far beyond the destruction of buildings.
Homes, schools, hospitals, businesses and vital infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed.
Millions of daily routines have been disrupted, while displacement, shortages of water and electricity, unemployment and restricted access to healthcare has become defining features of life in the Gaza Strip.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, Israeli military activity has continued. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on October 6, 2026 that 1,462 Palestinians had been killed since the ceasefire, bringing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 74,245.
Here is how three years of war reshaped Gaza.
October 7, 2023 – War begins
The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel responded with a large-scale military campaign in Gaza involving airstrikes and ground operations. The assault rapidly changed the physical and humanitarian landscape of the densely populated enclave.
Late 2023 – Mass displacement begins
As Israeli attacks expanded, Palestinians were ordered to leave areas of northern Gaza and move south.
Large numbers of people abandoned their homes, many carrying only what they could take with them. Schools and other public buildings increasingly became shelters for displaced families.
The foundations of everyday life – housing, electricity, water, transport and communications – began to break down.
2024 – Destruction spreads
The war increasingly affected almost every part of Gaza.
Rafah in the south became a major refuge for displaced Palestinians from across the Strip. By May 2024, more than 800,000 people had been displaced from Rafah following Israel’s military operation there, according to the UN.
The destruction also deepened the pressure on Gaza’s health system, schools, businesses and water and sanitation networks.
2025 – Economic collapse deepens
By 2025, Gaza’s economy had been reduced to a fraction of its pre-war size.
UN Trade and Development estimated that 92 percent of Gaza’s economic establishments had been damaged or destroyed since October 2023. Unemployment reached 78 percent, while GDP per capita stood at $212 in 2025 – only 17 percent of its 2022 level.
The destruction of businesses and productive sectors meant that losing a job was increasingly accompanied by the loss of entire local economic networks.
October 10, 2025 – Ceasefire takes effect
A ceasefire came into effect at noon on October 10.
The pause allowed humanitarian organisations to increase food, water and medical assistance. During the first month, UN partners delivered up to 1.3 million cooked meals a day, supplied millions of litres of fuel and reopened or established 27 health service points.
But the ceasefire did not restore normal life.
2026 – War’s legacy becomes permanent
By 2026, Gaza’s problems were no longer confined to active combat zones. The damage had become embedded in housing, education, healthcare, the economy and public services.
The UN said in September that 94 percent of Gaza’s population remained in urgent need of shelter and basic household assistance, while 65 percent of households were living in tents or makeshift shelters.
Water insecurity also remained widespread, while the absence of a functioning electricity grid left households and essential services dependent on generators and increasingly scarce fuel and spare parts.
Education – A generation loses years
The destruction of schools turned education into one of the war’s longest-lasting consequences.
UNICEF estimated that about 98 percent of Gaza’s schools had been damaged or destroyed. By 2026, hundreds of thousands of children had missed years of regular classroom education.
Temporary learning spaces and tent schools have provided some education, but they cannot replace the infrastructure and continuity lost during the war.
By September 2026, students were beginning to return to in-person learning in some areas for the first time in nearly three years, despite the widespread destruction.
Healthcare – Hospitals struggle to function
Gaza’s health system has been pushed far beyond normal capacity.
The World Health Organization says hospitals have spent years treating enormous numbers of patients while facing shortages of medicines, equipment, fuel and specialised services. Thousands of people require long-term rehabilitation and care for life-changing injuries.
Medical evacuation has provided treatment for some patients outside Gaza, but the scale of need remains far greater than available capacity.
A shrinking space to live
The geography of Gaza has also changed.
Military control, restricted-access areas and repeated displacement have pushed Palestinians into increasingly concentrated areas.
The UN reported in September that most residents still faced severe shelter needs, while humanitarian organisations struggled to provide basic household assistance.
Rafah illustrates the transformation most clearly. Once a refuge for more than one million displaced Palestinians, much of the city has been emptied and destroyed, leaving many residents unable to return.
October 2026 – A ceasefire without normality
Three years after the war began, Gaza remains a territory where the meaning of everyday life has changed.
Collecting water, finding shelter, securing food, charging a phone, accessing healthcare and sending children to school have become challenges that require planning and scarce resources.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported 74,245 Palestinian deaths and 175,267 injuries by October 6, 2026. It said 1,462 Palestinians had been killed since the October 2025 ceasefire.
The war has therefore changed Gaza in more than physical terms. It has altered where people live, how they work, how children study, how patients receive treatment and how families obtain the necessities of daily life.
For millions of Palestinians, three years of war have turned ordinary life into a continuing struggle for survival.
