Gaza and Israel three years later

three years Since the Hamas Al-Aqsa floods terror attack and the subsequent start of Israel’s brutal military assault on Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has still clung to power. This is unthinkable after October 7, 2023, David Remnick writes todaywhen Netanyahu apparently presided over “the worst disaster in the country’s history.”

The prime minister’s failures continue to mount: Many believe he has not committed enough to freeing hostages held by Hamas; he has also blocked a government-wide reflection on security lapses that failed to prevent attacks. Recent reports suggest he is more aware of the threat than before, which he denies. Amid all this, Israeli military operations in the Middle East have eroded support for Israel among governments and people around the world; more than 70,000 people have died in Gaza.

Palestinian children walk to school amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the start of the school year in Khan Younis on September 19.Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty

The early days of the school year in Gaza this October bear little resemblance to Mosab Abu Toha’s childhood memories. Abu Toha, winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for writing about the Palestinian experience on our pages, now lives in Syracuse, New York, with his family. Today, he writes about the grim daily life and unimaginable horror experienced by the children of the sisters who remained behind. Mornings start before sunrise with queues for water; walks to the tent used as a makeshift school are sometimes interrupted by Israeli gunfire; students attend classes only three days a week; school supplies are expensive and scarce; his nephews study under a large tent “surrounded by bombed-out houses and piles of rubble.” “This is the fourth year in a row that children in Gaza have been denied basic human rights,” Abu Toha wrote. “I wonder how much children can learn in such devastating circumstances.”

Meanwhile, in Israel, where the outcome of the upcoming October 27 election is far from certain – Netanyahu recently used the failed flydubai flight hijacking attempt as an opportunity to rally nationalist pride. “He will do anything and say anything to distract from his failures,” Remnick wrote. As for the election, which many Israelis consider the most important of their lifetimes, he noted, “Almost anything can happen.”

Illustration by Carl Godfrey; Image source: Getty

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