More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect eight months ago, according to the territory’s health ministry. The figure underscores the fragility of the October 2025 truce, which was meant to halt the deadliest chapter of the conflict but has instead given way to near-daily Israeli strikes, shelling, and gunfire. The cumulative toll since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 now stands at 73,016 dead and 173,265 wounded, the ministry reported on Wednesday.

The latest fatalities include victims of a series of drone attacks over recent days on towns and refugee camps in central Gaza and Gaza City. On the same day, an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, killed two Palestinians and wounded six others, according to medics at Nasser Hospital. The Israeli military confirmed the operation, saying it targeted a “terrorist,” but provided no further details. These incidents are part of a pattern that has seen 1,005 Palestinians killed and 3,157 injured since the ceasefire was declared, as Israeli forces have expanded the territory under their control and continued what they describe as operations against Hamas militants.

The humanitarian consequences are deepening. Nearly one million displaced Gazans still live in tents, and Norwegian Refugee Council officials warn that the approaching summer heat will bring unbearable conditions, with insects and soaring temperatures making shelters uninhabitable. Israel’s ongoing blockade on construction materials prevents any meaningful rebuilding. Gaza’s health authorities also cautioned that they may be forced to suspend the programme that refers critically ill patients for treatment abroad, citing persistent travel restrictions. A father of three in Deir al-Balah described waking each morning to “ants, flies, and insects streaming in” as the sun rises, a snapshot of the misery endured across the enclave.

Viewed from European and Middle Eastern capitals, the ceasefire has become a legal fiction that masks a protracted low-intensity conflict. While the intensity of fighting has diminished since the devastating operations of 2023 and 2024, the continued use of lethal force and the expansion of Israeli-controlled zones inside Gaza have drawn sharp criticism from humanitarian organisations and some governments. Analysts in London note that the term “ceasefire” is increasingly contested, with critics arguing it merely provides diplomatic cover for ongoing military action and a suffocating siege that prevents reconstruction.

Looking ahead, the prospects for a durable settlement appear remote. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating as summer approaches, and the near-total halt on medical evacuations threatens to push the death toll higher even without major combat. Without a renewed diplomatic push—something neither Washington nor regional powers have been able to deliver—Gaza’s population remains trapped between a stalled peace process and a grinding daily reality of violence and deprivation.