Six months after the Gaza ceasefire went into effect on October 10, little has changed except for a reduction in active fighting.
Most residents continue to live in sprawling tent camps, while others remain in damaged residential buildings. Health and aid workers report that the expected surge in medical supplies and aid has largely failed to materialize.
Palestinians have expressed declining hope for any short-term improvement in their living conditions. According to the Associated Press, Maysa Abu Jedian, a displaced woman from Beit Lahija, said: “There is pollution and disease. It’s like there is no ceasefire at all.”
“The war is still going on and life is still terrible as it is,” said Eyad Abu Dagga, who also took refuge in the camp in Khan Younis. Tents fluttered in the wind as children played on the sandy ground, set against the ruins of destroyed buildings.
The US-backed 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan is falling short on the humanitarian front, according to a report released Thursday by five international aid organizations. They added that conditions in Gaza have further deteriorated since the outbreak of the Iran war.
They said: “During the first two weeks of March 2026, trucks entering Gaza dropped by 80% and the price of basic goods increased dramatically.” Medical evacuations were reportedly delayed.
Council of peace silence?
Not so long ago, the Peace Council, initiated by the United States and led by President Donald Trump, was launched with $7 billion in commitments and broad ambitions to resolve not only the conflict in Gaza, but also other global crises. However, just nine days after their first meeting, the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
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The board has not reconvened since then and is still awaiting Hamas’s response to its disarmament proposal, considered a major and potentially the most difficult concession, given that Hamas’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said no firm deadline had been set for Hamas, but warned that “patience is not unlimited”.
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Last month, Peace Council Director Nickolay Mladenov informed the UN Security Council that the focus must not shift from Gaza despite the emergence of a new conflict. He said Gaza faced a serious choice between “renewed war or a new beginning; the status quo or a better future,” adding that “there is no third option.”
crisis between Israel and Gaza
Although large-scale fighting has eased, Israeli forces have continued to carry out airstrikes and open fire on Palestinians near areas under military control. Militants have in turn launched shooting attacks on Israeli troops, with Israel saying its strikes are in retaliation for these and other ceasefire violations.
The war-torn Palestinian territory, home to about 2 million people, has seen the most intense clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas militants cease. However, much of the work needed to maintain the ceasefire remains unfinished, including disarming Hamas, ending its two-decade rule, deploying international stabilization forces and beginning large-scale reconstruction. For now, Gazans remain in limbo, with only limited aid entering through the single Israeli crossing.
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These calls may offer a glimpse of what lies ahead in the broader conflict, as Trump’s peacemaking approach appears to be aimed at stopping the fighting while longer-term issues remain unresolved. Whether Trump can secure a similar deal with Iran remains uncertain amid more complex dynamics and global markets reacting sharply to developments.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli attacks have killed 738 people in the six months since the ceasefire began. The ministry, which operates under the administration of Hamas, maintains detailed casualty figures that are generally considered credible by UN bodies and independent analysts, although it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
In total, the ministry says 72,317 Palestinians have been killed since the war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
