Summary
An Indian Express editorial marking three years since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, argues that peace remains out of reach. More than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis continues despite a ceasefire that began on October 11, 2025.
The Board of Peace announced a $2.45 billion recovery plan on September 24, 2026, against UN, EU and World Bank estimates of $71.4 billion needed over a decade. The plan is stuck on sequencing: Israel insists Hamas disarm before reconstruction and Hamas refuses to disarm without a full Israeli withdrawal.
Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel controls 60% of Gaza. The editorial says the US alone can enforce progress, notes signs of strain in US-Israel ties and points to Israel's October 27 election as a chance for voters to judge Netanyahu, amid reports he ignored warnings from Egypt and the UAE before October 7, which he denies.
WHY IN NEWS FOR UPSC & STATE PCS
October 7, 2026 marks three years since the Hamas attack on Israel, with Gaza's reconstruction deadlocked over the sequence of Hamas's disarmament and Israel's withdrawal and Israel's national election due on October 27, 2026.
Standard News
Gaza's Peace Is Stuck on Who Goes First
Three years after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages and after more than 74,000 deaths in Gaza, a ceasefire has held in name since October 11, 2025. Yet the peace process is frozen on a single question of order.
Israel says it will not allow reconstruction until Hamas disarms. Hamas says it will not disarm until Israel withdraws. Each side's condition is the other's precondition. The Board of Peace's $2.45 billion recovery plan, announced on September 24, covers only a fraction of the $71.4 billion that the UN, EU and World Bank estimate Gaza needs over the next decade.
And even that cannot move until the sequencing deadlock breaks.
The case for disarmament first Israel's position is not merely political stubbornness.
October 7 showed what an armed Hamas inside Gaza can do. Rebuilding Gaza while Hamas keeps its weapons risks recreating exactly the conditions that made the attack possible: materials diverted to military use, armed groups embedded in civilian areas and a renewed threat to Israeli civilians. From this perspective, reconstruction without disarmament is not peace; it is preparation for the next war.
The case for withdrawal first Hamas's position and the wider Palestinian argument, also has a logic.
Israel says it controls 60% of Gaza. To disarm while a foreign army holds most of the territory is to give up the only leverage a weaker side has, with no guarantee the occupation will end. Meanwhile, more than two million people live amid ruins. Every month that reconstruction waits for disarmament, civilians who had no say in October 7 pay the price.
Where
TAN stands TAN's position is that neither side's sequence should prevail and that the deadlock can only be broken from outside, by the United States, through phased and parallel steps. That means separating two kinds of reconstruction.
Basic civilian recovery, such as water, shelter, health and food, should not be held hostage to disarmament. Large-scale rebuilding and further Israeli withdrawal should then advance together with verifiable disarmament milestones, under international monitoring.
Only Washington has the leverage over Israel and, through regional partners, over Hamas to make such a framework stick. The editorial notes signs of strain in the US-Israel relationship, which could increase US influence.
The October 27 Israeli election is the hinge: a new coalition will decide whether Israel accepts parallel steps or holds to disarmament first.
Quick Facts
Key numbers & takeaways — revise these first
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The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 killed about 1,200 people; 251 people were taken hostage.
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More than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian figures as of early October 2026.
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A US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza began on October 11, 2025.
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The Board of Peace proposed a $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan on September 24, 2026.
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A joint UN, EU and World Bank assessment estimates Gaza's reconstruction needs at $71.4 billion over the next decade.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel controls 60% of the Gaza Strip.
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Israel's national election is scheduled for October 27, 2026.
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Several Western countries have formally recognised the State of Palestine since the war began.
Connect the dots for your UPSC preparation.
Standard news covers the event. Log in to read our comprehensive analysis and uncover the hidden constitutional, structural, and ethical dimensions of this topic:
The full, strongest case for disarmament first, built on Israel's security logic after October 7. 2. The equally strong case for withdrawal first, including why disarming under 60% occupation removes the weaker side's only leverage. 3. TAN's specific phased framework, separating basic civilian recovery from large-scale rebuilding. 4. Why the October 27 Israeli election is the hinge and what evidence would change TAN's position.
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