One year after the Gaza ceasefire took effect, there has been no return to full-scale war — but there has also been no peace. More than 100 humanitarian, human rights, and civil society organizations said on October 9 that the truce exists "in name only," pointing to continued Israeli strikes, an expansion of Israeli military control to around two-thirds of the territory, and the stalling of every later phase of the 20-point plan that was supposed to follow the guns falling silent.
What the aid groups are saying
The joint statement, published by Amnesty International on behalf of the coalition, was timed to the anniversary of the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025. Its core claim is that Israeli forces have continued to kill and injure Palestinians daily, while restrictions on aid, equipment, and rebuilding materials have kept families from recovering.
On the human toll, Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began — figures cited by both Reuters and NPR. The ministry's count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, and independent verification of the figures remains limited. Amnesty's statement puts the number of children killed at more than 327 and says nearly two million people still need shelter, with not a single one of Gaza's hospitals fully functioning. The statement also cites United Nations sources for a figure of more than 18,500 patients awaiting medical evacuation, including at least 4,000 children.
What held — and what didn't
The first phase of the plan did deliver parts of what it promised. Major combat operations were suspended, the last remaining hostages seized in the 2023 attacks were released, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel were freed, according to Reuters.
What followed did not go to plan. Israel has mounted near-daily attacks over the past year, saying its strikes target Hamas and accusing the group of trying to carry out attacks and rearm; Hamas denies this. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants or in combat since the ceasefire, according to the Israeli military. Meanwhile, the withdrawal line agreed in the deal — the so-called Yellow Line, which initially left Israeli troops in control of 53 percent of Gaza — has been pushed steadily forward. Reuters reports Israeli effective control has expanded to around two-thirds of the territory; NPR's reporting puts the figure at roughly 70 percent. The result is that some two million Palestinians are now squeezed into a shrinking coastal strip, sheltering mostly in tents and damaged buildings. Reuters also reports that Israel-backed Palestinian militias opposing Hamas are using the Israeli-held zone to launch attacks into Hamas-controlled areas.
Why the next phase is stuck
The 20-point plan's later phases foresaw Hamas disarming, new governance by a Palestinian body overseen by the Trump-led Board of Peace, gradual Israeli withdrawal, territory handed to a temporary International Stabilization Force, and large-scale reconstruction. A year on, Reuters describes all of those goals as far from reach.
Disarmament is the deadlock. Hamas has indicated it would hand its weapons over for storage under a US-backed Palestinian technocratic government — while rejecting the word "disarmament" — but Israel has called the arrangement unacceptable and says it will not withdraw until Hamas is fully disarmed. The stabilization force has a commander, US Major General Jasper Jeffers, and pledges of personnel from Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Albania, Kosovo, and Uganda, but it has yet to be assembled. The technocratic Palestinian governing body appointed in January has not entered Gaza.
Aid has improved but remains contested. The global hunger watchdog IPC says more than 1.2 million people still face acute hunger in Gaza, and its August report found an average of just 227 trucks a day carrying humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza from the ceasefire through the end of May — less than half the 600-a-day minimum stipulated in the plan. Israel says around 600 trucks a day are now entering and that Gaza is receiving enough to meet needs; aid agencies say Israel is blocking essential items including metal tent poles, engine oil, and spare parts, arguing Hamas could use them for military purposes.
Reconstruction has not started. The Board of Peace unveiled a $2.45 billion plan in September, but that is a fraction of the $71.4 billion the EU and UN estimated in April would be needed over the next decade. Palestinians are still scavenging rubble for materials to prop up tents, Reuters reported.
The open question
The anniversary arrives with the ceasefire neither collapsed nor completed. The UN Secretary-General has called for the truce to become permanent and for humanitarian assistance at scale. But the core bargain of the plan — Hamas disarmament in exchange for Israeli withdrawal — is where it was months ago, with both sides describing the other's position as unacceptable. A year after the deal was meant to end the war, Gaza's two million residents remain in tents and damaged buildings, and the forces that were supposed to stabilize and rebuild the territory have not yet arrived.
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Casualty figures are attributed to Gaza's Health Ministry as reported by the outlets cited; the ministry does not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, and independent verification is limited. Claims by the aid coalition are presented as the organizations' stated positions. The reference in Amnesty's statement to a UN Commission of Inquiry genocide finding is the organizations' characterization of that body's conclusions.
