Gaza after two years

October 7, 2023 was the day when Hamas launched the air, sea and land attacks on Israel that killed dozens of people. Hundreds of others were also taken hostage. That triggered relentless bombing of Gaza by Israel which has led to more than 67,000 Palestinians losing their lives to this day. Critics argue that Hamas's October 7 attack was the cause of Gaza being reduced to rubble and the fate of 2.2 million Palestinians being ruined.

The joint US-Israel 20-point peace plan for Gaza launched on September 29 calls for ceasefire in Gaza; release of hostages; withdrawal of Israeli forces from the besieged territory and deployment of an international stabilisation force consisting of Muslim countries; neutralisation of Hamas; and formation of an interim government composed of Palestinian technocrats.

This brings us to ask, what has Hamas gained from its October 7 attack on Israel? Why didn't it contemplate Israeli retaliation to its attack? Was the Hamas attack on Israel aimed at preventing Abraham-II accord in which the Saudi recognition of Jewish state was said to have been coming? Had Hamas not attacked Israel and continued with its low-level conflict, the people of Gaza wouldn't have suffered such devastation.

The so-called 20-point peace plan - which ensures liquidation of Hamas and imposition of an external hold over the Palestinian territory - came in the aftermath of the meeting of eight Muslim-Arab states held on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York and President Donald Trump's joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he announced the Gaza peace plan. The original US plan for peace was modified under Israeli pressure.

The Hamas attack on Israel two years ago triggered the genocide of Palestinians and destruction of Gaza by the Jewish state. By attacking Israel without redeeming its consequences, Hamas not only caused war havoc to the 2.2 million Palestinians of Gaza but also precluded any role of PLO in the governance of that territory. The attack also provided Israel and the US an opportunity to deny Hamas and PLO any leadership role in the future of Gaza. It means that it is Israel which, despite global condemnation because of its genocide in Gaza, paved the way for President Trump to announce a so-called peace plan that denies Palestinians any role in deciding their own future. Even the two-state solution, total withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and abolition of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank are not a part of the Trump's peace plan.

The Muslim world has failed to follow a pragmatic approach on issues that are critical to the future of Palestinians of West Bank and Gaza. Hamas certainly damaged PLO by challenging its role in Gaza which benefited Israel. Now, after two years of mayhem and bloodshed in Gaza, if Hamas wants to continue with its attacks against Israel, it will not benefit Palestinians. If Hamas captured a few hundred Israelis on October 7 and took them hostage, the Jewish state killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and devastated Gaza. No Arab country, particularly Egypt, rendered any tangible support to the beleaguered population of Gaza which enabled Israel to continue with its brutalities against the besieged Palestinians.

It is time to analyse how Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel led to the killing and displacement of Palestinians while its leadership lived in comfort zones in Qatar and elsewhere. Had Hamas not challenged PLO and its late Chairman Yasser Arafat, Palestinians would have got their state. Who can deny documentary evidence that Hamas was launched with Israel's blessings during Intifada 1 against PLO in 1988? It suited Israel to patronise a religious organisation like Hamas against democratic and secular PLO so as to weaken the Palestinian resistance.

Gaza, after two years, is certainly a dreadful example of Hamas's miscalculation regarding its October 7 attack. Why did Hamas refuse to release Israeli hostages, giving justification to Tel Aviv to launch retaliatory attacks on Gaza? Despite its rocket attacks, Hamas has not been able to cause any substantial damage to Israel.

According to an Oxfam report, "There are still 48 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, while nearly 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, and roughly 2 million people have been displaced - many of them on multiple occasions. More than half a million people in Gaza currently face catastrophic conditions, characterised by starvation, destitution and death. Another 1.07 million people - 54 percent of the population - are facing emergency levels of hunger. In August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirmed famine in parts of Gaza, and warned it could spread in the coming weeks."

Ironically, the US peace plan didn't mention a word about the genocide and the enormous sufferings of the people of Gaza over the last two years but focused on release of hostages, dismantling of Hamas and international control of the ruined territory.

Gaza, after two years, needs to be examined from two angles.

First, there are no winners in the war on Gaza. If 2.2 million Palestinians have faced genocide, Israel has also witnessed international condemnation and isolation. One major achievement of Hamas's Oct 7 attack is European, Canadian and Australian denunciation of Tel Aviv and their recognition of the Palestinian state. This is a net loss inflicted on Israel just because of Netanyahu's brutalities in Gaza. Yet, Hamas's attack failed to compel Israel and the US to agree to a two-state solution and ensure a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel rather used Hamas's attack to deepen its military occupation of Gaza and sustain oppression in the occupied West Bank.

Second, the resilience of the beleaguered Palestinian population of Gaza and West Bank galvanised international condemnation of Israel. Support for a Palestinian state in the West also gained momentum over the last two years.

However, it remains to be seen how Hamas's partial acceptance of Trump's peace plan will stabilise things in Gaza.