A call to action on Gaza

Five months after all parties agreed to a US-sponsored ceasefire, the Israeli occupiers continue to be in charge of Gaza. The truce that briefly raised hopes in late 2025 —backed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on Nov. 17 — never took root. Israel’s military presence has effectively expanded and restrictions on aid, fuel and movement have persisted. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights last week warned that Palestinians in Gaza continue to live “under conditions of precarity and dehumanization” five-plus months after the ceasefire was proclaimed.

Ramadan ended amid deepening humanitarian needs and heightened exposure to violence, displacement and property destruction. Aid convoys reach Gaza in limited, irregular numbers, with only a fraction of the promised trucks materializing, while fuel deliveries are markedly insufficient. Essential services — hospitals, water systems and sanitation — operate on the edge of collapse, hampered by irregular inputs and ongoing disruption. That means electricity is only on for a few hours and hospitals are always on edge out of fear that, without fuel supplies, their critical generator will turn off.

The toll on civilians has been stark. Palestinian health authorities report hundreds killed since the ceasefire’s announcement. Gazan authorities and local media cite thousands of ceasefire breaches since October 2025, including direct strikes, restrictions on humanitarian aid and continued territorial pressure. The humanitarian corridor remains narrower than promised and the influx of essential materials — food, medicines and spare parts for pumps and generators — lags far behind demand.

In Gaza’s streets, the human cost is visible daily. Violence persists, with airstrikes, shelling and gunfire interrupting otherwise ordinary routines. The Palestinian Ministry of Health, corroborated by international monitors, records dozens of fatalities in the months since the latest ceasefire. The pattern of harm is neither incidental nor random but systematic: strikes on civilian infrastructure, clinics and homes, the demolition of properties, and the displacement of families facing eroded protection and accountability.

The economy, already fragile, has deteriorated. Food is technically available but essentials are prohibitively expensive for many households. Trade is constrained to a small number of Israeli and Egyptian sellers, many of them corrupt and charging exorbitant so-called coordination fees that drive up prices. A kilogram of tomatoes can cost between $6.40 and $9.60, a marker of broader pressures on households. 

The humanitarian corridor remains narrower than promised and the influx of essential materials lags far behind demand.

Daoud Kuttab

Donor support surged during Ramadan, channeled through Islamic institutions and private donors — much of it routed via the UAE-connected Palestinian exile leader Mohammed Dahlan. International support has been minimal, with the World Food Programme as the principal multilateral player. With the end of Ramadan, support waned, leaving unemployment estimates well into the double digits and, according to Gazan officials, approaching or exceeding 85 percent in some sectors.

Gaza’s internal governance remains constrained. The members of the 15-person technocratic committee envisioned to administer Gaza’s governance and reconstruction have not been permitted entry by Israel. In the meantime, Palestinian security services maintain a fragile equilibrium — policing zones, safeguarding public order and attempting to deter inflationary price gouging. The repeated Israeli killings of local police officers remind residents that those tasked with enforcing order pay a high price in this conflict environment.

Public sentiment is wary. With each escalation, fear grows that the Yellow Line will encroach further into Gaza. A broader reassertion of control could displace communities or derail any prospect for a stable future. Drones and checkpoints convert movement into risk; even relatively safe corridors are policed beyond certain hours or distances from the old center.

Washington appointed Nickolay Mladenov as high representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace and he is proposing an eight-month phased approach — a three-stage framework pitched as a route to reconstruction and normal life. Phase one emphasizes a broad cessation of hostilities and return to humanitarian norms; phase two centers on disarmament and dismantling tunnels; phase three envisions a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s perimeters, contingent on verified disarmament and a stable security framework. In theory, this plan could anchor recovery and governance; in practice, its success hinges on credible enforcement, sustained international involvement and unwavering civilian protection. 

Israel is ignoring the basic demand that it must withdraw its occupying troops from Gaza and open the borders.

Daoud Kuttab

The Mladenov plan gives Israel what it wants: the disarmament of Hamas in return for items that Tel Aviv was supposed to deliver with the start of the second phase of the US plan, following the return of all hostages. Israel pocketed what it wanted and ignored the quid pro quo.

Now, issues as simple as allowing the civilian committee to enter Gaza or permitting both entry and exit across the Rafah border point are being recycled in return for the prize of decommissioning. Israel is ignoring the basic demand of Palestinians that it must withdraw its occupying troops from Gaza and open the borders for humanitarian and human movement in both directions.

What Gaza needs now is not another plan but a reliable path to relief and accountability. It requires unimpeded humanitarian access, steady fuel and medicine supplies, and a nonpartisan channel for reconstruction that prioritizes civilian life over strategic signaling. It demands a durable agreement that protects civilians, respects international law and creates a governance framework capable of withstanding the next escalation. It requires political courage from regional and global leaders to resist turning Gaza into a bargaining chip or a proving ground for military doctrine.

The people of Gaza deserve more than pity or rhetoric — they deserve protection, opportunity and a real path to dignity. If the international community cannot uphold the bare minimum of civilian protection, it must at least be transparent about its limits and accountable for the consequences.

The time to act is now. Gaza cannot endure another cycle of temporary truces and shattered lives. The world’s credibility in protecting civilians and pursuing durable peace hinges on translating urgent talk into verifiable action.

• Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of “State of Palestine Now: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to Bring Peace to the Middle East.”

X: @daoudkuttab