October 7 exposed Israel’s vulnerabilities. The Gaza war deepened them.

The Hamas resistance group’s October 7 blitz exposed a profound failure at the heart of Israel’s security model, shattering the long-held belief that military superiority, intelligence and deterrence could guarantee the security of its citizens.

In response, Israel launched a genocidal war in Gaza, presenting it as necessary to restore security and prevent another such attack.

Three years of genocide have instead widened the crisis, deepening political divisions inside Israel and damaging its standing abroad.

It has raised broader questions about Israel’s political leadership, its decades-long mistreatment of Palestinians, and the future of a state built on the continued occupation of Palestinian land.

Over the same period, the Israeli public has moved further to the right, according to Alon Liel, former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and an expert on Israeli politics.

“The October 7 attack was deeply traumatic, and the government’s response to it was a huge failure. The scale of the damage and the embarrassment of the government were channelled into a more nationalistic sentiment and a desire for revenge,” Liel tells TRT World.

“The media, in the years since, has focused overwhelmingly, perhaps 95 percent of the time, on our suffering, the casualties, the hostages, the destruction inside Israel and so on. As a result, the public has become very angry and nationalistic, strengthening right-wing political parties.”

According to Liel, the result is not only an ideological shift towards more anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab positions, but also an erosion of democratic norms.

“We have 20 percent Arab citizens, and hostility towards them has grown, leaving them increasingly isolated,” she says.

“When you intensify pressure on Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and, in some ways, inside Israel itself, you also become less democratic.”

A crisis of political trust

The political fallout from October 7 has continued well beyond the initial failure of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to prevent the attack.

The attack exposed serious failures across Israel’s political and security establishment, while the absence of a state commission of inquiry has prolonged the dispute over responsibility.

Netanyahu has resisted calls for such an inquiry, while victims’ families and opposition figures have continued to demand accountability.

For Palestinian scientist and author Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, who was nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, the war has exposed deeper problems within Israel’s political system.

“The period following October 7 has shown how fragile and unsustainable the pre-existing status quo since 1948 has been, and the systemic inequalities and limitations of relying on military might to maintain a colonial, racist occupation,” Qumsiyeh tells TRT World.

“It has made clear that lasting stability cannot be achieved without addressing the root causes, including self-determination, human rights, and equal justice for all people in the region.”

“Rather than enhancing security, the three years of genocide have brought the end of this racist regime closer,” Qumsiyeh adds.

Public dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the war has also remained high.

According to an INSS survey conducted for the third anniversary, only 34 percent of Israelis were satisfied with the government’s management of the war on Gaza.

Meanwhile, 75 percent supported establishing a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7.

“I think Israel is safer militarily because we have inflicted significant damage on Iran [during US-Israeli offensives] and the Syrian military [during and after the fall of Assad regime]. But the problem we are facing is political and societal,” Liel says.

“Israeli society is more divided than it was before; particularly over democracy, corruption and the way the country is governed.”

“The opposition is deeply worried about the erosion of democratic institutions, the media and the country’s bureaucracy, as well as attacks on state institutions,” Liel adds.

The security doctrine exposed

Three years of war have exposed the limits of a security doctrine heavily reliant on military force and inflicted unprecedented destruction on Palestinians in Gaza.

The mass displacement of Palestinians and destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure have meant that Palestinians have borne the overwhelming human cost of Israel’s military offensive.

For many Israelis, meanwhile, the war has failed to restore a sense of security.