Two Years of War: How Israel, Hamas and the World Changed Forever

Two years ago - on October 7, 2023 - the Middle East changed forever. Thousands of Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel in a surprise dawn attack, firing thousands of rockets and storming Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and even a music festival. By the end of that day, 1,200 Israelis were dead, mostly civilians - women, children, and the elderly. It was the worst attack in Israel's history. About 250 hostages were dragged into Gaza - a haunting shadow that still looms large over Israel today.

The Response

Israel's response was swift and devastating. Within hours, airstrikes flattened large parts of Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, "Israel is at war."

The siege tightened, power was cut, food and medicine blocked, and air raids became daily. What began as retaliation soon turned into a full-scale offensive that razed nearly all of Gaza's cities. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since then. Entire families wiped out. Hospitals bombed. And nearly 90% of Gaza's 2 million people displaced- many multiple times.

Israel and Hamas' Point Of View

Israel says its war is one of self-defense, aimed at dismantling Hamas, whose fighters are deeply embedded within civilian areas. But critics and international agencies call it a collective punishment - even genocide.

The International Criminal Court has sought the arrest of Netanyahu and his former defense minister, accusing them of using starvation as a weapon of war - a charge Israel fiercely denies.

Hamas, meanwhile, portrays its October 7th assault as a response to decades of Israeli occupation and land seizures. But for Gaza's civilians, that 'resistance' has come at an unbearable cost. Schools are gone. Hospitals destroyed. Over 20,000 children dead. One in every thirty-three people in Gaza - killed.

Divided, But Remembering the Dead

Now, as Israel marks two years since that attack, the country remains deeply divided. Memorials for the victims are being organised by bereaved families, not the government - a quiet sign of protest against Netanyahu, whom many blame for failing to secure a ceasefire and bring home the remaining 48 hostages.

In Tel Aviv, thousands gather under the slogan: "Bring them back. End this war."
In Gaza, the few still alive mourn silently amid rubble and ruin.

The war has also redrawn global fault lines. Iran and its proxies - Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq and Syria - have all been pulled into the battlefield.

In mid-2024, Israel and the United States launched a 12-day coordinated offensive against Iranian nuclear and military targets, after suspected Iranian drones hit Israeli ports.

That conflict killed several Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, and pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional war.
Iran retaliated through cyberattacks and proxy strikes - but its own economy, already battered by sanctions, began to collapse.

The US Angle

In Washington, the change of guard in Nov 2024 also reshaped the war's trajectory.
The new Trump administration, returning to power in 2025, abandoned the "Biden-era ceasefire diplomacy" and backed Israel's harder line - pushing Hamas toward talks only under U.S.-led terms.

Just this week, Israel and Hamas met indirectly in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh, discussing what is being called the "Trump Peace Plan 2.0." The proposal - conditional disarmament of Hamas in exchange for a phased ceasefire and international oversight in Gaza.

For now, neither side has agreed. But the talks themselves mark a rare pause in a war that has defined an era.

The Bottom Line

Two years on, Israel stands militarily stronger, but politically fractured.

Gaza lies in ruins - a land where famine, displacement, and grief have replaced the call for freedom.
And the world - from Washington to Tehran - watches, divided between alliances and accountability.

This is no longer just a war between Israel and Hamas.
It's a mirror of our times - a question of what humanity allows in the name of security, vengeance, and survival.

Because in this war, everyone has lost - and peace still feels impossibly far away.