Three years later, in West Asia, a peace still out of reach

The power to enforce meaningful progress lies ultimately with the White House, but the US President seems consumed by the political fallout of the war with Iran.

3 min readOct 7, 2026 06:00 AM IST First published on: Oct 7, 2026 at 06:00 AM IST

The horrific terror attack on Israel by Hamas three years ago, in which almost 1,200 were killed and 251 taken hostage, set in motion a war that continues to ripple far beyond Gaza. The devastation that followed has left Israel isolated internationally, with several Western nations formally recognising the State of Palestine. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to conduct joint military operations with the US against Iran, perceived to be weakened by internal turmoil and the decimation of its proxies, has plunged West Asia into further chaos. No lasting settlement in Gaza is possible without Israel’s participation, or without Hamas giving up arms — peace still doesn’t look within reach.

The situation in Gaza, where more than 70,000 people have been killed in the last three years, continues to be enormously disturbing. The humanitarian crisis remains acute, with shortages of supplies, displacement and military strikes by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) despite the ceasefire that began almost a year ago. The much-touted peace plan of US President Donald Trump has made little progress. Only two weeks ago, the Board of Peace announced a $2.45 billion recovery plan for the Strip — a fraction of the $71.4 billion that the UN estimates will be required for recovery and reconstruction over the next decade. Hamas’s disarmament remains an issue locked in an impasse: Israel says reconstruction cannot proceed without disarmament, while Hamas, which prolongs the stalemate and the suffering of Gazans, resists disarmament without a full Israeli withdrawal first. The first phase of the Trump plan envisaged Israel retaining control of 53 per cent of Gaza; since then, however, IDF forces have expanded their presence to two-thirds of the Strip.

The power to enforce meaningful progress lies ultimately with the White House, but the US President seems consumed by the political fallout of the war with Iran. At the same time, the once-unbreakable US-Israel alliance is fraying: Public support for Israel in America has fallen to historic lows, and the bipartisan consensus around military aid shows signs of weakening. Within Israel, the Gaza war has exposed deep divisions over the government’s conduct — especially in light of revelations that Netanyahu ignored warnings from Egypt and the UAE about an impending Hamas attack — and the country’s entanglement in regional conflicts, including in Lebanon and Syria. In 20 days, Israel will hold an election, giving citizens their first chance since the terror attack to pronounce a verdict on Netanyahu. The coalition that emerges after October 27 will help shape not only the future of Gaza, but also Israel’s trajectory. It will indicate whether three years of militarism can give way to a path that leads away from war.