At the ceasefire’s first anniversary, Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians remain displaced as Israeli strikes continue and almost no rebuilding takes place. Most shelter in rodent-infested tent camps, amid rubble in their former neighborhoods or in buildings damaged during the war and at risk of collapse. The agreement halted major military operations and increased humanitarian access, but its provisions for Palestinian administration, Hamas’ disarmament and an end to Israeli control over more than half of Gaza remain unfulfilled.
Who Controls Gaza
The 20-point agreement followed months of negotiations under the Biden and Trump administrations. It called for Hamas to transfer power to a committee of Palestinian administrators vetted by the Board of Peace, a new body chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump and charged with implementing the ceasefire. Hamas officially dissolved its government in July, but left the civil service intact and remains the dominant power in roughly 40% of Gaza not controlled by the Israeli military.
Israel has barred the new Palestinian administration from entering Gaza through Egypt. The agreement also called for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, but Israel has taken more territory, pushing the so-called yellow Line of Control west toward the Mediterranean Sea. The proposed administration still hasn’t entered the territory, while Israeli forces retain control over more than half of it.
The International Stabilization Force announced in February hasn’t materialized. Indonesia, which pledged the largest contingent, 8,000 soldiers, put those plans on hold last spring as attention shifted to the Iran war.
Disarmament and Strikes
Israel has tied progress on the agreement’s terms to Hamas’ complete disarmament. Hamas and the Trump administration say the steps should happen simultaneously. In July, Trump announced a deal calling for Hamas to disarm “in a gradual, sequential and time-bound manner” linked to an Israeli withdrawal in phases. Hamas confirmed for the first time that it had agreed to disarm, while also linking disarmament to Israel halting strikes and withdrawing from Gaza.
Days later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel wouldn’t withdraw from any part of Gaza until Hamas had been completely disarmed, rejecting the agreement Trump had announced. Netanyahu hardened his position over the summer, openly defying Trump, his most important ally. Israel has regularly struck people it accused of violating the ceasefire, approaching the yellow line or participating in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack; those attacks have often killed civilians.
The Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,400 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect. Sporadic attacks have killed five Israeli soldiers in Gaza during the same period.
The Cost of the War
The Hamas-led attack that began the war killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251, according to the article. Israel responded with extensive bombardment and a ground invasion that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry says. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, keeps detailed records, and U.N. agencies and independent experts consider it generally reliable. It doesn’t distinguish civilians from militants in its count and says women and children make up around half the dead.
Netanyahu faces criticism over security and intelligence failures leading up to the attack, with opponents accusing him of being soft on Hamas. He is seeking to shore up his nationalist base ahead of Oct. 27 elections that could end his nearly unbroken 17-year rule, the longest in Israel’s history. The political dispute leaves little room for even minor compromises on Gaza until a new government forms, a process that could take months.
At the summit marking the deal, Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East: “We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us.” Hamas remains weakened but in power, virtually nothing has been rebuilt, and a return to fighting can’t be ruled out.