Three Years After October 7, Conflict’s Effects Persist

Three years after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostage, its effects continue to shape Israeli communities and the wider Middle East. Israel’s ensuing war has devastated Gaza, killed more than 70,000 Palestinians according to reported Palestinian health figures, displaced nearly the entire population and left families searching for missing relatives amid shortages of forensic staff and equipment. Survivors and bereaved families on both sides describe continuing trauma and loss; some Israeli residents have returned to border communities but say questions remain about security and accountability. The conflict has also brought wider regional confrontation and intensified Israeli military operations, settler violence and displacement in the West Bank, alongside weakened Palestinian Authority governance. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the October 7 attack and urged the parties to make the ceasefire permanent, expand humanitarian aid and pursue a lasting political settlement.