Displaced residents in Gaza City say the US-brokered ceasefire, now a year old, has not delivered the peace it promised. Many still live in camps under near-daily Israeli airstrikes, and they describe their situation as unchanged or worse.
Israel has reduced the intensity of its attacks but has continued to strike, and it now controls about 70 percent of the territory. Reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian enclave, which the ceasefire plan called for, has not yet taken shape.
Gaza ceasefire anniversary leaves displaced residents unconvinced
Fatima Awkal, a displaced woman in Gaza City, said nothing had improved and that the assurances she had heard were nothing but falsehoods. She said killings and injuries were still occurring, shelling had not stopped, and drones kept humming overhead, denying people any quiet.
Ahmed Jonaid, another displaced Palestinian in the city, said he had expected the truce to allow him to go home. He said he and his family were instead living in refugee camps on makeshift mats, and he was seen carrying two jerrycans of water back to his tent.
Overcrowded camps, destroyed homes and disease in Gaza
Rows of white tents now line streets that have been cleared of rubble, while damaged buildings with blown-out windows stand nearby. Almost all of Gaza’s more than two million residents were displaced at least once during the war that followed Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023.
According to the UN, 82 percent of standing structures in Gaza were damaged or destroyed as of mid-2026. Many residents still rely on tents or makeshift shelters, where overcrowding and poor hygiene have led to outbreaks of disease.
Ahmed Shawan, a doctor at a hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, said he had not seen the ceasefire take effect on the ground. He said that a full year after it was declared, the truce “exists only on paper.”
Stalled political transition and aid restrictions in Gaza
The second phase of the agreement was meant to move the territory away from rule by the Islamist movement Hamas. Technocrat Ali Shaath was appointed to lead a new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, but Hamas effectively remains in charge of security, and Shaath has kept a low profile.
Five countries, including Morocco, have agreed to join the International Stabilisation Force, which is tasked with preparing for the post-war period. Its troops have yet to begin operating in Gaza.
Israel controls all entry points into the territory and allows only a limited volume of aid in, keeping the price of basic goods too high for ordinary residents. Ismail Hamouda, a 47-year-old father displaced from Jabaliya to Gaza City, said that water, food and financial assistance remain scarce. He said the situation was worsening gradually and that his family was still displaced.
