One thousand days after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, the ceasefire in Gaza remains precarious, with Israeli forces controlling nearly 70 percent of the territory and Palestinian casualties continuing to mount. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures the United Nations considers reliable, reports that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, including at least 21,000 children, according to Save the Children. Since a US-brokered truce took effect on 10 October 2025, at least 1,053 additional Palestinians have died, the ministry says, while the Israeli military reports losing five soldiers and one contractor in the same period. The UN has warned that Israel’s expansion of military operations in Gaza increases fatal risks for civilians in areas without clear demarcation on the ground.

Inside Israel, the anniversary was marked by memorials and protests, with the October Council—a group representing families of victims and hostages—demanding the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the authorities’ failure to prevent the deadliest attack in the country’s history. Polls indicate broad public support across the political spectrum for such an investigation, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has consistently refused, arguing that a commission appointed by the Supreme Court would be biased. Netanyahu has instead reiterated a doctrine of strength, telling Israeli media that “the strong survive” in the Middle East and that Israel must remain in southern Lebanon until the threat from Hezbollah is eliminated. Former army chief Gadi Eizenkot, a leading candidate to succeed Netanyahu in elections scheduled for October 2026, publicly pledged to “prove ourselves worthy,” reflecting the political pressure the prime minister faces.

The ceasefire’s next phases remain gridlocked over the question of Hamas disarmament. Nickolay Mladenov, the top diplomat overseeing the truce, has stated that the process cannot advance until Hamas lays down its weapons. While the group has not outright rejected disarming, it insists on retaining some arms and demands further concessions from Israel. The impasse has stalled the deployment of an international stabilisation force and the launch of reconstruction efforts, for which the US-led Board of Peace had secured billions of dollars in pledges earlier this year. The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the situation as far from any “semblance of normality,” with over 800,000 children displaced and 245,000 at risk of malnutrition.

Viewed from Washington, the stalled ceasefire represents a significant test of the Trump administration’s mediation architecture, while regional capitals are recalibrating their positions. Israeli forces have deepened their presence in Gaza and southern Lebanon, and Netanyahu has pressed for joint US action against Iran, which he continues to describe as an existential threat despite its weakened proxy network. Analysts in European and Middle Eastern diplomatic circles note that Israel’s broader strategic isolation is deepening as new alignments form among Riyadh, Doha, and Ankara. With Israeli elections approaching and no inquiry in sight, the dossier remains frozen between a truce that has not ended the killing and a political process that has yet to begin.