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A Ceasefire in Name Only

The killing, meanwhile, has not stopped.

Since the ceasefire agreement reached with Hamas in October came into effect, Israeli air strikes and artillery fire have continued across multiple areas of Gaza. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, those attacks have killed at least 648 people and wounded nearly 18,000 — numbers that accumulated not during open warfare, but during what was supposed to be a pause in hostilities.

Late Sunday into early Monday, six Palestinians — including two children — were killed and around ten wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza City and the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Analysts say the shift in global attention has created a permissive environment for exactly this kind of low-intensity but persistent violence. With international media and diplomatic energy consumed by the broader regional war, Israel has been able to carry out targeted military operations in Gaza with little fear of triggering significant international reaction.

Abdu described the ongoing operations as part of a systematic pattern, accusing Israel of exploiting every opening to "deepen conditions that make life increasingly impossible for an exhausted population." He raised the alarm over accelerating fears of renewed famine and malnutrition, particularly among children, and pointed to the rapid collapse of health services as medicine and equipment shortages mount.

"Hospitals are shutting down or operating at minimal capacity due to shortages of fuel and medical supplies. Patients are increasingly unable to travel for treatment, and many are deprived of essential medicines," he said.

The Political Process, Frozen

Behind the immediate humanitarian emergency lies a political deadlock that shows no signs of breaking.

The ceasefire agreement, signed in October, laid out an ambitious three-phase framework: a halt to military operations and the entry of large-scale humanitarian aid in the first phase; a broader Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the launch of reconstruction, and the establishment of a transitional civilian administration in the second; and the full normalization of life in the territory thereafter.

Phase one was itself only partially implemented. Israeli forces maintained control of large swaths of the territory and key crossings throughout. Phase two, which was supposed to begin in January 2026, stalled almost immediately. Israel introduced additional conditions around Gaza's future governance and the disarmament of armed factions, and negotiations ground to a halt.

In January, a Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza was formed — a transitional civilian body of 15 technocrats tasked with managing civil affairs, coordinating aid, restarting government institutions, and overseeing reconstruction. Its mandate was directly tied to the second phase of the ceasefire.

Israel has blocked the committee from entering Gaza. The Rafah land crossing, central to the committee's ability to function, has been closed for ten consecutive days.

"It is clear that Israel is exploiting the world's focus on the war with Iran to expand its repressive policies in Gaza at a time when international pressure and accountability are declining," Abdu said. "Many of these measures are taking place even without active combat — civilians are being killed, homes destroyed, and crossings restricted in ways that appear aimed at collective punishment and starvation."

Abu Jiyab, the economist, believes the regional war has given Israel a convenient justification for maintaining exactly the kind of political paralysis that suits its goals. "The clearest indication of this is the political neglect by the United States, the so-called Peace Council, and the mediating states regarding the rapid transfer of governance and enabling the administrative committee to manage the Gaza Strip," he said.