Three years after October 7, Israeli expansionism continues unabated

When the ceasefire was signed last October, Israel controlled about 53% of Gaza. It has used the ceasefire period as a chance to expand further.This week, as the world prepared to mark the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.One could be forgiven for wondering what year it is. A ceasefire was already reached in Gaza nearly one year ago.But Guterres’s call underscores a grim reality: little has fundamentally changed since the October 2025 ceasefire was signed. The intensity of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has declined from the horrific heights of 2023, 2024, and 2025, but the tiny enclave remains under assault.The “ceasefire” has not stopped Israel from firing. Gazans still hear the constant buzzing of drones and endure daily bombings.Since last year’s ceasefire, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed, an average of about four people per day. The overall Palestinian death toll now exceeds 74,000.And Gaza remains largely in ruins.Shocking Google Maps images released in late September show the extent of the destruction. It is not an exaggeration to say the Strip looks like a demolition site.According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Israeli bombardment has destroyed or damaged 82% of buildings in Gaza. In all, 134,422 buildings have been completely destroyed.B’Tselem, the leading Israeli human rights organization, has documented what it calls Israel’s “deliberate devastation” of Gaza, including its water and sanitation infrastructure.Displaced Palestinians live in tent communities plagued by rats, scorpions, and disease.According to the UN, Israel also continues to restrict essential humanitarian aid, including life-saving medicines, in ways that exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.A pair of Australian charities recently lodged a complaint over Israel’s refusal to allow more than 900 donated wheelchairs into Gaza. The wheelchairs are critical for wounded Palestinian children: Gaza is home to the largest population of child amputees in the world per capita. This is what the Gaza “ceasefire” looks like.Expansionist controlWhen the ceasefire was signed last October, Israel controlled about 53% of Gaza. It has used the ceasefire period as a chance to expand further.With the world — and the news cycle — distracted by the U.S.-Iran war, Israel has extended its control to nearly 70% of the Strip.And there is no sign that Israel has any plans to withdraw.In late September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry warned that Israel appeared intent “to establish permanent control” over Gaza. More recently, in August 2026, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled Israel’s refusal to withdraw from Gaza.It is as clear as ever that Israel has used the October 7 attack as a chance to implement its vision for a “Greater Israel.”Israel’s Gaza expansion policy dovetails with its aggressive West Bank expansion program, which Amnesty International recently described as the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinian communities.Israel has also expanded its military presence in Lebanon and Syria. Greater Israel, which Netanyahu has endorsed, envisions a Biblical land border stretching from the Euphrates River in Iraq to the Nile River in Egypt.The United States remains Israel’s most important backer.President Donald Trump, who described himself earlier this year as “the best friend to Israel that they’ve ever had,” appears content to let Israel get whatever it wants.In January, Trump launched the “Board of Peace,” which he formally chairs, and laid out a plan for Gaza that he said would lead to peace.But the board has mostly watched as Israel has carried out daily ceasefire violations and expanded control over Gaza.Perhaps more troublingly, it has increasingly adopted Israel’s positions.When Hamas recently accepted phased disarmament in exchange for phased Israeli withdrawal, the board issued an initial statement of approval.But Israel objected over sequencing, refusing any withdrawal before complete Hamas disarmament.The Board of Peace quickly changed its position, effectively adopting the Israeli demand.The futureThree years after October 7, there is an extraordinary degree of agreement among experts and organisations that have studied Israel’s conduct in Gaza.Amnesty International, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, and leading Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights have all concluded that Israel’s actions amount to genocide.The world waits for a final ruling by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case brought by South Africa in December 2023.Even if the court finds Israel responsible for genocide, what will the ruling mean in practical terms if Israel continues its assault and expansion program, or succeeds in driving all Palestinians out of Gaza?As Professor Dirk Moses recently reminded a Doha audience, genocides truly only end when genocidal actors are defeated.Three years after October 7, Israel still hasn’t been defeated.This article is an opinion piece by Mohamad Hamas Elmasry, Professor of Media Studies Program at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar. The op-ed does not necessarily reflect the views of Doha News, its editorial board, or staff.