Three Years On: How War Has Reshaped Everyday Life in Gaza

Three years after Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave has been fundamentally transformed. What was already a densely populated and resource-constrained territory has been devastated across nearly every measure of human existence, from housing and healthcare to education and employment. The scale of destruction has left around two million people struggling to meet basic needs that were once taken for granted.

According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, more than 74,245 Palestinians have been killed over the course of the conflict. A "ceasefire" announced in October 2025 has not halted the suffering; the ministry reports that 1,462 Palestinians have been killed since that agreement took effect, with Israeli attacks and other military activity continuing across the Strip. The persistent violence has undermined hopes that the truce might allow for meaningful recovery.

The war's impact extends far beyond casualties. Repeated displacement and evacuation orders have uprooted families and torn apart communities, forcing people to move multiple times with little warning. The United Nations reported that in September, 94 percent of Gaza's population remained in urgent need of shelter and basic household assistance. About 65 percent of households were living in tents or makeshift shelters that offer scant protection from heat, cold, rain, and wind.

Those temporary dwellings frequently lack adequate bedding, lighting, kitchen equipment, and sanitation facilities, according to the UN. For many families, the notion of a stable home has disappeared entirely. The basic infrastructure of daily life—running water, reliable electricity, and usable roads—no longer exists for large parts of the population, forcing people to reorganize their days around survival rather than normal routines.

Water access has become a daily ordeal. UN assessments found that 91 percent of households experienced moderate-to-high water insecurity in early August, an increase from 84 percent in June. Collecting water, often from distant or unreliable sources, consumes hours that might otherwise be spent working, studying, or caring for family members. The deterioration reflects both damage to water infrastructure and restrictions on supplies and fuel needed to operate pumps and treatment systems.

Electricity remains similarly unreliable. Gaza has had no functioning electricity grid, leaving hospitals, water facilities, and households dependent on generators. Fuel, engine oil, and spare parts are increasingly scarce, making it difficult to keep even essential services running. Damaged roads and communications networks have compounded the problem, hindering transport, phone and internet access, and the ability to reach basic services.

The cumulative effect is a daily existence defined by logistics and deprivation. Charging a phone, cooking a meal, washing clothes, or traveling to a clinic or distribution point each require resources and planning that were once unnecessary. These tasks now dominate the lives of people who previously held jobs, attended school, and participated in community life.

Gaza's economy has been shattered. In September, the UN Conference on Trade and Development estimated that 92 percent of economic establishments had been damaged or destroyed since October 2023, while unemployment reached 78 percent. GDP per capita stood at just $212 in 2025, roughly 17 percent of its 2022 level. Agriculture and industry were each operating at only 6 percent of their 2022 output, and construction had fallen to a mere 1 percent.

The collapse has made basic goods increasingly unaffordable. Restrictions on the movement of goods, most of which historically passed through Israeli-controlled crossings, have deepened the economic damage. In September, prices remained around 200 percent above pre-October 2023 levels, according to the UN. As jobs and incomes have vanished, economic activity has increasingly centered on aid, debt, and small-scale informal work.

Economic researcher Rami al-Zaygh told Al Jazeera that the war had "pushed society back decades," reviving old professions and creating new types of work using basic tools and whatever resources are available. Many families now rely on cash assistance from humanitarian groups, and physical cash has become scarce, pushing people toward digital payments and e-wallets. The shift illustrates how the conflict has forced improvisation in nearly every aspect of economic life.

Education has suffered a similarly severe blow. For nearly three years, hundreds of thousands of children had no regular access to in-person schooling, as schools were damaged or destroyed and many of those still standing were converted into shelters. UNICEF estimates that nearly 98 percent of schools have been damaged or destroyed, and as of April 2026, around 700,000 children aged 4 to 17 had missed almost three consecutive years of in-person education.

The loss of schooling represents a long-term threat to an entire generation. Beyond the immediate disruption to learning, children have been deprived of safe spaces, peer interaction, and the routines that support emotional and social development. The destruction of educational infrastructure also complicates any future effort to restart formal education, as rebuilding schools and training or replacing teachers will take years.

Healthcare, too, has collapsed under the strain of war. Although the source article notes the broader collapse of health services, it is clear that hospitals and clinics have been damaged, overwhelmed, or forced to operate with minimal supplies and fuel. The combination of physical destruction and economic paralysis has left many Palestinians without reliable access to medical care, even as injuries and illness persist.

The humanitarian picture is one of widespread dependency on aid and informal coping strategies. With shelter, water, food, and income all insecure, families have little capacity to plan for the future. The "ceasefire" announced in October 2025 has not translated into a meaningful peace dividend, as violence continues and basic services remain unreconstructed.

Three years of war have thus changed Gaza not only physically but socially and economically. The territory's pre-war systems of education, employment, health, and housing have been replaced by a patchwork of emergency responses and individual resourcefulness. For the people of Gaza, survival itself has become a full-time occupation, and the prospects for recovery remain deeply uncertain as long as the underlying conflict and restrictions persist.