How has Israel’s genocide changed Gaza?

Three years after Israel launched its war on Gaza in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the enclave has been reshaped beyond recognition. The sustained aerial and ground offensive has razed neighborhoods, destroyed homes and crippled essential infrastructure, leaving a population of roughly two million in a state of chronic displacement. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 74,245 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began, and an additional 1,462 have died after a “ceasefire” was declared in October 2025, as Israeli strikes and other military activity continue across the Strip. The devastation has erased basic services: running water, electricity, reliable transport and stable shelter are now luxuries for many, while 94 percent of residents still require urgent shelter assistance and 65 percent are confined to tents or makeshift shelters that offer little protection from the elements.

The war’s most profound consequence is the collapse of Gaza’s economy, education and health systems, turning everyday life into a struggle for survival. The UN Conference on Trade and Development estimates that 92 percent of Gaza’s economic establishments have been damaged or destroyed, unemployment has surged to 78 percent, and GDP per capita has fallen to $212 in 2025—just 17 percent of its 2022 level. Agriculture and industry operate at a fraction of their former output (6 percent each), construction at 1 percent, and prices for basic goods hover around 200 percent above pre‑war levels. With the electricity grid in ruins, households rely on generators and scarce fuel, while 91 percent of households face moderate‑to‑high water insecurity. The loss of jobs has forced families into cash‑assistance programs, informal work and digital payments, as physical cash becomes increasingly scarce.

Education and health have been equally shattered. UNICEF reports that nearly 98 percent of schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving about 700 000 children aged 4‑17 without regular in‑person schooling for almost three years; roughly 200 000 have no access to any education at all, and learning now occurs in tents and temporary spaces. The Palestinian Ministry of Education warns of a severe erosion of basic skills and a widening academic gap that threatens an entire generation’s prospects. All 36 hospitals in Gaza are operating under extreme strain, with limited capacity to treat the wounded and sick amid shortages of medicines, electricity and medical supplies. The combined impact of infrastructure loss, economic ruin and educational disruption has forced Gaza’s residents to reorganise daily routines around water collection, phone charging and makeshift cooking, underscoring a humanitarian crisis that persists despite the nominal ceasefire and reshapes the region’s social fabric for the foreseeable future.

⚡ Effects Interpreter