Gaza — One year after a ceasefire agreement was officially reached in Gaza, more than 100 humanitarian, human rights, and civil society organizations have warned that the pact exists in name only. According to the coalition of aid groups, Israeli forces have continued to kill and injure Palestinians on a daily basis, while sweeping restrictions on humanitarian aid, heavy equipment, and rebuilding materials have completely paralyzed any prospects for recovery.
The grim milestone highlights a persistent cycle of violence and destitution. Over the past year, more than 1,400 Palestinians, including at least 327 children, have been killed by Israeli strikes, gunfire, and ongoing military operations. Throughout the enclave, families and rescue workers have been forced to recover hundreds of bodies from the rubble using little more than their bare hands, hampered by Israeli authorities blocking the entry of essential heavy machinery. Many more bodies remain buried beneath collapsed structures, completely unreachable.
The coalition of international and local organizations stressed that the ongoing killing and deprivation must not be normalized under the protective cover of a nominal ceasefire agreement. They argue that the fundamental conditions that prompted international condemnation of the conflict remain entirely unaddressed, leaving nearly two million people in desperate need of shelter and basic survival supplies.
Local civil society leaders have highlighted the extreme challenges faced by Palestinian first responders operating under ongoing occupation. Mohsen Abu Ramadan, a board member of the Palestinian NGO Network, emphasized the immense strain on domestic organizations.
"Palestinian organisations are responding to immense needs under Israeli occupation with destroyed offices, displaced staff, and shrinking budgets," Abu Ramadan said. "Local and national organisations are first responders and will remain, but we need to be protected. Governments must act to end Israel’s attacks and restrictions on our work and donors must provide direct, flexible funding to meet the needs."
Compounding the violence, the Israeli military has advanced the so-called Yellow Line further into the interior of Gaza, pushing well beyond the withdrawal boundaries originally established in the ceasefire agreement. This tactical shift has severely compressed Palestinians into an increasingly narrow, densely packed area, exacerbating overcrowding and depleting what little resources remain.
Recent satellite imagery starkly illustrates the catastrophic scale of the destruction inflicted by Israeli forces. Neighborhoods have been systematically reduced to pulverized rubble, residential homes flattened, and vital agricultural lands thoroughly razed. Assessments indicate that more than 80% of structures across the entire Gaza Strip have sustained damage, with approximately two-thirds completely destroyed.
As another harsh winter approaches, hundreds of thousands of families continue to languish in makeshift tents, tattered shelters, or severely compromised residential structures. They now face their fourth consecutive winter entirely exposed to biting cold, freezing winds, and seasonal flooding. Demographic vulnerabilities add to the crisis: nearly one in four households in Gaza is now headed by a woman, and these families face exponentially higher risks of living in unsafe or wholly inadequate conditions.
With safety virtually nonexistent, desperate families have resorted to sheltering inside structurally compromised, war-damaged buildings that face an imminent threat of collapse. The lethal danger of this reality was underscored in September, when 21 people—including 12 children—were tragically killed when a damaged building suddenly collapsed in Gaza City.
Inger Ashing, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children, condemned the ongoing failure to protect vulnerable populations, noting the devastating human cost borne by the territory’s youth.
"A ceasefire is meaningless if children are still being killed and families are still unable to rebuild their lives," Ashing said. "Since the ceasefire was announced, nearly one child has been killed every day. Families remain trapped in a devastating cycle of loss and deprivation, unable to recover. Governments that backed this agreement must use their influence to stop the killing and ensure children can access food, healthcare, shelter and education. Gaza’s children have a right to safety and a future. Governments have the power to help secure both, and they must use it."
Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, echoed these sentiments, labeling the ongoing humanitarian blockades an international disgrace.
"It is utterly shameful that a full year after the ceasefire was signed, so little has improved for Palestinians in Gaza," Egeland stated. "Families are still being forced to make impossible choices, between sheltering in damaged and dangerous buildings or living in tents facing unbearable temperatures. Israeli restrictions are still preventing the required equipment or materials, which are the only ways for communities to begin rebuilding their lives. As winter approaches, all governments must take concrete steps to ensure that the flow of aid increases without hindrance, so that Palestinians can finally begin the vast task of recovery and reconstruction."
These prolonged restrictions have similarly devastated Gaza’s essential public services and healthcare infrastructure. Not a single one of the territory’s 36 hospitals is currently fully functioning. Essential medicines, medical equipment, and fuel remain critically scarce. Newborn babies kept in incubators, patients requiring urgent oxygen or intensive care, older adults, and individuals living with disabilities or life-changing injuries face acute, life-threatening risks as specialized treatment, rehabilitation, and assistive services remain severely restricted.
The medical crisis is compounded by a massive backlog of patients requiring specialized care abroad. More than 18,500 patients, including at least 4,000 children, are still waiting for medical evacuation, and over 1,000 individuals have already died while waiting for permission to leave.
Simultaneously, food insecurity has reached catastrophic proportions. An estimated 1.4 million people are currently facing crisis-level hunger or worse as the year draws to a close. At the same time, the combination of unsafe drinking water and thoroughly devastated sanitation systems continues to drive the rapid spread of preventable diseases across the enclave.
One year on, human rights advocates point to an unmistakable and tragic pattern. Families continue to be killed, children continue to succumb to preventable illnesses, and the landscape of Gaza remains heavily littered with unexploded ordnance. Homes lie trapped beneath rubble that cannot be cleared, while life-saving aid remains locked out of reach from the people who need it most.
Observers note that these conditions closely mirror the volatile environment that previously led the United Nations Commission of Inquiry—in reports issued in September 2025 and June 2026—to conclude that Israel has committed genocide. Humanitarian leaders emphasize that the international community’s legal and moral responsibilities do not conclude simply because an agreement was signed on paper.
Agnes Callmard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, underscored the critical need for global accountability and adherence to international law.
"Accountability cannot be swept under the rubble," Callmard said. "The recovery and future of Gaza cannot be separated from a framework grounded in international law, justice, and the rights of victims. The persistent failure to hold Israel accountable and press Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice’s binding orders continues to fuel the atrocity crimes on a mass scale against Palestinians."