In Gaza, the ceasefire does not stop the humanitarian deterioration

The ceasefire that took effect on 10 October 2025 has not brought the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip to an end. According to organisations working on the ground, the population continues to live amid displacement, damaged homes and insufficient access to essential services.

During a press conference in Geneva, James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson, said that for Palestinian children the ceasefire had become “un’illusione al tempo stesso crudele e letale” ("an illusion that is both cruel and lethal"). Since the ceasefire began, around 265 children have died in the enclave, according to figures cited by the UN. During the same period, the overall death toll among Gazans reached 1,053, with 3,406 injured.

Joan Tubau, head of mission for Médecins Sans Frontières in the occupied Palestinian territories, describes the humanitarian situation as still extremely critical. More than two million people live along a coastal strip devastated by two years of war. Bombardments are less intense than during the most acute phases of the conflict, but displacement continues as Israeli control over the enclave expands.

Difficulties in hospitals

UN agencies and NGOs have been reporting Israeli restrictions on the entry of certain supplies for weeks. Items that Israel considers to have a “dual use” include materials that, according to the authorities, could be used by Hamas for military purposes. Humanitarian organisations say that the bans have also affected generators, fuel, tent materials and medical devices.

Médecins Sans Frontières is one of the 37 NGOs that Israel banned from operating in Gaza at the beginning of the year. The organisation rejected a request to provide information about its Palestinian staff, citing security and neutrality concerns. MSF continues to operate in the Strip, but it cannot send international staff or directly import materials and equipment.

The consequences for the health system are severe. According to the World Health Organization, around half of the hospitals are only partially operational and none is functioning at full capacity. A prefabricated hospital has remained blocked in Jordan for months. Laboratory equipment, reagents, oxygen concentrators and orthopaedic devices also cannot be transferred to Gaza.

Israel rejects the accusations. The government maintains that requests to import medicines are approved without quantitative limits and that their entry takes place without interruption. Meanwhile, funding remains insufficient. At the end of June, the UN humanitarian plan, valued at four billion dollars, was only 25% funded.