What October 7 means in the history of Israel-Palestine conflict

The roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict can be traced back to the late 19th century with the emergence of the Zionist movement, which aimed to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Since then, the region has been embroiled in a series of wars, occupations, and revolts.

This is not the first time the conflict has flared so violently. From the Arab-Israeli war in 1948, to the Six-Day War in 1967, and the Lebanon War in 1982, not to mention the two Palestinian Intifadas, the region has endured countless violent flashpoints. But what sets October 7 apart is Hamas’s ability to hold Israeli territory, even if only for a brief time—something no Palestinian resistance group had achieved before.

Hamas fighters managed to capture the Re’im military base, the headquarters of Israel’s Gaza division, in an operation that saw all Israeli soldiers stationed there killed or captured. While Israeli forces eventually retook the base, it shook Israel’s sense of military superiority.

Why October 7 is different?

For many Palestinian commentators, the events of October 7 are without precedent. “Not that I recall,” Kamel Hawwash, a Palestinian professor, writer and a political analyst, tells TRT World, referring to the October 7’s uniqueness in terms of holding Israeli territory in the long conflict.

Sami al-Arian, another Palestinian academic, echoed this view, noting that while Hamas had attacked Israel many times, this was the first occasion where they briefly held Israeli ground.

“One could also add that this is the first time since the 1973 war where Israel was attacked first. Even then this time Israel was attacked in its "own" territory unlike 1973, where Egypt attacked it in the Sinai and the Syrians in the Golan Heights,” Arian tells TRT World.

The Sinai Peninsula, which was invaded by Israel twice, first in the late 1950s and second between 1967 and 1982, is an Egyptian territory and the Golan heights, which have been under Tel Aviv’s occupation since 1973, are also officially part of Syria.

Joost Hiltermann, Middle East Program Director at the International Crisis Group, reflected on the significance of October 7. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said, but added that in some ways, it was a continuation of the long-standing patterns of the conflict.

Hiltermann described the attack as “a combination of everything that came before,” pointing to the various stages of Palestinian resistance, from state-backed efforts by Egypt and other Arab countries in the 1960s and 1970s, to the Intifadas and multiple Gaza wars with Israel.

Some analysts drew parallels with the October War of 1973, another pivotal Arab-Israeli conflict that also began in early October. However, this time, Israel was attacked within its borders, a stark contrast to 1973, when Egypt and Syria targeted Israeli-occupied territories.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks killed 1,180 Israelis including civilians, wounding 2,400 as the Palestinian resistance group took 251 hostages in Gaza. After the attack, Israel killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

What October 7 Changed?

Before October 7, Israel felt confident that the long-standing political equation in the Middle East, which historically refused to acknowledge the existence of a Jewish state in a predominantly Muslim Arab region, had shifted in its favour. Several Arab states had begun normalising relations with Israel, thanks to mediation by the Trump administration.

“Prior to October 7, Israel appeared to be writing the final chapter of its settler-colonial project in Palestine. It had nearly subdued the Palestinian leadership, fractured the nominal unity of Arab support for Palestine, and was prepared to annex much of the West Bank,” says Ramzy Baroud, a Palestinian author and analyst, referring to these normalisations, the marginalisation of the Palestinian Authority, and the ongoing Gaza siege.

Baroud describes Netanyahu’s 2023 UN speech as “the pinnacle of a devastating moment in history,” when the Israeli prime minister presented a map that excluded any Palestinian territories, calling it the “New Middle East.” In Netanyahu’s vision, “Palestine didn’t exist as a political reality, and Palestinians were no longer relevant as a nation with agency and aspirations,” says Baroud.

However, two weeks after Netanyahu’s UN speech, the unexpected events of October 7 altered everything, “reinstating Palestinians at the centre of any future peace in the Middle East, neutralizing Israel’s military capacity to impose political outcomes through violence, and exposing the normalisation between Israel and Arab states as an untenable farce,” Baroud adds.

The October 7 attack allowed Hamas to “very effectively disrupt” Israel’s integration into the Middle East, particularly through the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, “starting a new war,” according to Hiltermann. However, he also believes that Hamas has not achieved much overall.

Regional repercussions

Israel’s international standing has come under pressure. Western countries, particularly in Europe, have become more vocal in their criticism of Israeli actions. Meanwhile, Palestinian supporters have gained ground in the court of global public opinion.

Following October 7, Israel’s regional diplomacy, notably its talks with Saudi Arabia, which had been moving toward normalisation have been stalled. Saudi Arabia has refused to normalise with Tel Aviv, seeing the Gaza carnage as unacceptable. Countries such as Türkiye, South Africa, and Iran renewed their criticism of Israel’s actions, while at the UN, major powers such as China and Russia voiced concerns over Israel’s conduct.

UN experts warned Israel that it risks becoming a “pariah” state. Unlike the US, in UN platforms, China and Russia, the two major states, condemned Israeli pager and walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon, which is also seen as a violation of humanitarian law, as some European states like Spain and Ireland warned Tel Aviv on further violations.

Baroud argues that a new form of legitimacy is emerging globally, aligned with Gaza and in opposition to Israeli occupation and human rights abuses. This shift, he suggests, is replacing the old order, as Israel persists with what he describes as “unspeakable atrocities” in the face of the Palestinians’ “legendary resistance.”

“Legitimacy now belongs to those standing in solidarity with Gaza, fighting and dying for Gaza, and expanding the boundaries of the conflict in Gaza’s name. Anyone on the other side of this equation has suffered unprecedented delegitimisation.”

October 7 has undoubtedly altered the landscape of the Israel-Palestine conflict. What was once considered a settled political equation, with Israel firmly in control and Palestinian hopes fading, has now been thrown into uncertainty. The attack not only exposed Israel’s vulnerabilities but also reaffirmed that peace in the Middle East cannot be achieved without addressing the Palestinian question.

“This means that the post October 7 period will undoubtedly force the rewriting of the political and geopolitical rules that governed Palestine, in fact the whole Middle East in recent decades, including Israel’s position vis-à-vis Arab states, and the US-centered regional power paradigm as well,” says Baroud.