Three Years After October 7: Trauma, a Rightward Shift, and Israel's Deepening Isolation

Three years have passed since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, yet for most Israelis, that date remains the dividing line between everything that came before and everything that followed. The assault, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and roughly 250 others were taken captive, shattered long-held assumptions about the country's security and set off a chain of events that has fundamentally altered Israeli society, its politics, and its standing in the world.

In the aftermath of the attacks, Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, according to the source material. The conflict has since widened, with Israel expanding its military operations to several regional states. Simultaneously, a wave of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, driven by far-right elements, has contributed to Israel's growing isolation from much of the international community.

According to Daniel Bar-Tal, an Israeli political psychologist at Tel Aviv University, the events of October 7 demolished the myth of Israeli military invincibility. Before that day, a strong sense of confidence in Israel's technological and military superiority was widespread among the public. That confidence collapsed when Hamas and other armed groups breached Israel's borders, catching the country's vaunted security apparatus off guard.

Bar-Tal noted that the Israeli public had largely been insulated from the consequences of the military's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Many were therefore deeply shocked to learn that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have had prior intelligence warning of Hamas's plans. The psychological fallout, he told Al Jazeera, was immense. "It disrupted [everything] immensely," he said. "It is a crisis that doesn't leave the population."

For Palestinians, however, the trauma of October 7 was followed by something far more devastating: Israel's genocidal response, which they have endured ever since. While Israeli society reeled from the attacks, Gaza's civilian population was subjected to an unrelenting military campaign that has drawn widespread international condemnation.

Inside Israel, the fear and trauma of October 7 did not simply linger—they were actively harnessed. Observers say politicians have exploited these emotions to advance their own agendas, often directing public anger toward Palestinians as a whole. Israeli sociologist Yehouda Shenhav-Shahrabani acknowledged the authenticity of the fear many Israelis felt but stressed that political forces quickly weaponized it. "There is no doubt that many Israelis were gripped by genuine fear after October 7," he said, "but there is also no doubt, in my view, that political forces have exploited that fear to erase virtually every achievement made over the years in Jewish-Palestinian relations."

The result has been a pronounced rightward lurch in Israeli society. Countless polls conducted over the past three years point to a steady drift toward far-right positions. Mainstream newspapers have begun openly questioning whether the left—long the primary advocate for a two-state solution—still exists as a meaningful political force in Israel.

Support for hardline policies has become remarkably widespread. A huge number of Israelis continue to back the execution of Palestinian prisoners convicted of "terrorism," as well as the ongoing expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. These positions, once considered fringe, have moved into the mainstream of Israeli political discourse.

A May 2025 survey conducted by Penn State sociologist Tamir Sorek painted an even starker picture. An overwhelming majority of Israeli respondents said they supported expelling Gaza's residents. A significant minority also expressed support for the "mass killing" of all residents of cities invaded by Israeli troops, drawing a parallel to the biblical account of the Israelites at Jericho. Such findings underscore how far public opinion has shifted in the space of just a few years.

Shenhav-Shahrabani described October 7 as an undeniable watershed in contemporary Israeli politics. But the consequences, he argued, go far beyond policy. "I would say that it has taken us back a hundred years—in our collective consciousness, in our willingness to engage with one another, and, above all, in the level of mutual trust," he said. "This is an enormous setback, one that will be extremely difficult to overcome."

The political landscape has also produced figures who embody this shift. Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, celebrated in the Knesset in March 2026 after parliament passed a law making the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks. The legislation, championed by the far right, marked a significant escalation in the country's judicial treatment of Palestinians and drew international criticism.

Beyond the political sphere, the war and its aftermath have transformed other aspects of Israeli life. The country's labor force has been reshaped, military commanders have been fired over October 7 failures, and debates over how to handle detainees from that day have intensified. Israeli officials have even pushed for hangings and "show trials" for those detained in connection with the attacks, further fueling domestic divisions and international concern.

Three years on, the trauma of October 7 remains raw, but its political consequences have been seismic. A nation that once believed in its own invincibility now finds itself more divided, more isolated, and more deeply entrenched in conflict than at any point in its modern history. The fear that gripped Israeli society in the aftermath of the attacks has not faded—it has been channeled, amplified, and institutionalized, leaving a legacy that will shape the region for years to come.