Since the eruption of the Al-Aqsa Storm operation on October 7, 2023, the Gaza conflict has reshaped the political and moral landscape of the Middle East. Two years on, the battle has evolved beyond military confrontation it has become a war over legitimacy, narrative, and the endurance of an idea: resistance. Today, Hamas stands not merely as a militant faction but as a political and symbolic force negotiating its place in a fractured regional order.
Economically, Israel has paid a high price for its military campaign. The Times of Israel reported that in 2024, the country’s GDP grew by only one percent far below prewar projections. The war’s direct costs, combined with the flight of foreign investment and the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists, have strained Israel’s economy. While Tel Aviv’s stock exchange recently hit record highs, these gains stem from speculative optimism about an end to the war rather than genuine recovery. In Gaza, the devastation is near total: according to UNCTAD, the enclave’s economy shrank by 24 percent in 2023, with reconstruction needs surpassing tens of billions of dollars. For Palestinians, the economic toll is inseparable from a deeper human tragedy- a collapse of infrastructure, livelihoods, and the future itself.
Politically, the war has shaken Israel’s regional strategy. The Abraham Accords, once a pillar of normalization between Israel and several Arab states, have been undermined by shifting public sentiment. In the Arab world, normalization has become a source of public anger, not pride. Governments that once sought quiet strategic ties with Israel now face the moral and political cost of association with a state increasingly viewed as pariah. Within Israel, too, the crisis has deepened domestic fractures: protests against Netanyahu’s leadership have intensified, and his speech at the UN General Assembly in September 2025 was delivered to a half-empty halla stark symbol of eroding legitimacy.
Hamas, meanwhile, has defied predictions of collapse. Despite immense losses among its leadership and infrastructure, the movement remains operational and politically relevant. Its endurance underscores a critical shift: resistance today is not confined to armed struggle but extends into diplomacy, information warfare, and the broader politics of legitimacy. The group’s conditional acceptance of recent ceasefire proposals, including aspects of Trump’s new “Gaza peace plan,” signals a strategic pragmatism. Hamas is learning to maneuver within the global stage not as a defeated actor but as one claiming moral survival against overwhelming force.
The broader international landscape has also transformed. Before the Al-Aqsa Storm, support for Palestine was largely symbolic – limited to statements and humanitarian appeals. After the war’s escalation, solidarity has become a mass phenomenon. From campus protests in the U.S. to the “Sumud flotilla” challenging the naval blockade, civil society worldwide has revived the Palestinian cause as a moral compass of the global South. Under pressure from these movements, several European governments have moved toward recognizing Palestine as a state – actions that, while politically calculated, reflect the power of public opinion in reshaping discourse.
At the same time, Israel’s actions have drawn unprecedented legal scrutiny. International organizations and human rights groups have described the scale of civilian casualties as genocidal. Over 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, and 80 percent of Gaza’s population displaced. Comparatively, the scope of destruction exceeds the Lebanon wars and previous Gaza operations combined. The images of flattened cities and mass graves have redefined the global understanding of occupation – not as a territorial dispute but as a moral collapse of the modern state system.
Beyond numbers, the war has exposed the contradictions of the so-called “rules-based order.” The selective application of law and morality – firm when used against adversaries, silent when allies are involved – has eroded Western credibility. For much of the global South, Gaza has become a mirror reflecting decades of double standards in international governance. In Latin America, Africa, and Asia, leaders increasingly speak of Palestine not just as a tragedy, but as part of a shared anti-colonial continuum.
The future, however, remains uncertain. The proposed Trump plan and ongoing back-channel negotiations might bring temporary calm, but without justice and sovereignty, no peace can endure. The war has radicalized a generation, yet it has also reawakened global conscience. The very act of surviving under total siege has turned Palestinians into symbols of defiance against the logic of domination.
As the world marks the anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Storm, it is clear that what began as a regional battle has evolved into a test of global ethics. If 2023 was the year of the “Storm,” 2025 is the year of awakening the storm of conscience. The question now is not whether Gaza will rebuild, but whether humanity will.
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