On October 7, 2026, three years will have elapsed since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. This anniversary forces a global reckoning: the necessity of defending Palestinian existence, stopping the crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people, and holding accountable the governments that continue to sustain the occupation.
Three years later, no victory has been achieved in Gaza. The legacy left behind is one of devastation, widespread loss of life, and displacement. Given this reality, diplomatic declarations cannot substitute for concrete measures designed to protect human life, end the occupation, and guarantee the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Recent developments indicate the ceasefire has not halted the violence. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 78,000 Palestinians have been killed since the offensive began, a figure that includes 1,422 since the ceasefire announced in October 2025.
History, however, did not begin in October 2023. Since the Nakba of 1948, expulsions, dispossession and territorial fragmentation have shaped the Palestinian experience. Military occupation, settlements and the siege of Gaza all predate Al-Aqsa Flood.
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, led by Hamas alongside Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other resistance groups such as the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and the Popular Resistance Committees, must be understood as part of this broader historical process.
In my assessment, the operation exposed the colonial project’s failure to secure lasting submission and shattered the perception of invulnerability surrounding the Israeli military apparatus. Understanding the causes of these events requires confronting the realities of occupation and the denial of self-determination. Resistance emerges from occupation; the Palestinian question cannot simply be framed as a security concern for the occupier.
As the third anniversary approaches, this reflection poses a decisive question: how can Palestinians be expected to renounce resistance while the structures denying them freedom remain in place?
Resolution 2649 (XXV), adopted on 30 November 1970, recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and foreign domination by the means at their disposal, condemning the denial of that right and referring specifically to Palestine.
Resolution 2787 (XXVI), dated 6 December 1971, affirmed the legitimacy of the struggle for self-determination and liberation, including that of the Palestinian people, by all available means.
Resolution 3070 (XXVIII), of 30 November 1973, expressly reaffirmed the legitimacy of the struggle for liberation from colonial and foreign domination by all available means, including armed struggle.
Resolution 3103 (XXVIII), of 12 December 1973, proclaimed the legitimacy of the struggle against colonial and foreign domination and racist regimes, establishing principles regarding the protection of combatants and the application of the Geneva Conventions.
Taken together, these resolutions preclude categorizing the Palestinian demand for freedom as “terrorism” by definition. They clarify that the Palestinian right to resistance and self-defence is not a concession granted by the occupying power.
Criminalising all resistance as “terrorist” amounts to denying oppressed peoples the rights recognised by the UN itself. Within this context, the resistance struggle of peoples under colonial and foreign domination legitimises the use of all means at their disposal, whether stones, rifles, rockets or drones.
Meanwhile, the occupying power cannot invoke self-defence to justify unlawful occupation, apartheid, or the expulsion of Palestinians. As the occupying power, it is obligated to protect the civilian population, ensure the provision of food, medicine, and health services, and facilitate humanitarian relief in accordance with Articles 27, 55, 56, and 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. No security claim authorizes collective punishment, forcible transfer, or the destruction of the conditions necessary for life.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice found “Israel’s” continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and affirmed the obligation of states not to recognize or assist in maintaining that situation.
In September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that “Israel” had committed genocide in Gaza. The commission identified killings, serious bodily and mental harm, the imposition of conditions of life intended to destroy the group, and measures intended to prevent births.
Imposed starvation, forcible displacement, and the destruction of the conditions necessary for survival threaten the continuity of Palestinian life. Deprived of food, water, shelter, or medical care, death extends beyond the bombardment itself. Labeling this devastation “collateral damage” dehumanizes the victims and obscures the political decisions behind it.
The third anniversary also demands scrutiny of the conduct of powers supplying arms, diplomatic protection, and material support to the occupying power, particularly the United States. Continuation of this support, in the face of documented crimes and international obligations, demands concrete action.
Palestinian resistance lives on in the families who remain on their land, the healthcare workers who treat the wounded and the journalists who document the attacks. It exists in the preservation of memory, the education of children and the refusal to be erased. Recognising this determination and resilience means recognising that devastation does not extinguish an indigenous people’s right to exist.
Three years on, solidarity must translate into political consequences. Assistance sustaining the unlawful occupation must end; arms transfers contributing to crimes must be prevented; humanitarian access must be ensured; and efforts to hold perpetrators accountable must be supported.
Civil society must hold governments accountable, support Palestinian and humanitarian organizations, protect those who expose abuses, and strengthen peaceful solidarity and boycott campaigns. News fatigue must not diminish the value of a life. Commitment to Palestine must withstand attempts to normalize daily destruction.
Three years after Al-Aqsa Flood, the occupying power has no right to impose the subjugation or disappearance of a people. Palestine does not ask permission to exist; it demands an end to the occupation and the right to determine its own future.
Defending Palestinian life means demanding an end to the crimes, reparations for the victims and the dismantling of the structures that perpetuate domination.
Justice cannot remain subordinate to the convenience of governments or the impunity of their allies.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
