The ceasefire in Gaza, hailed as a breakthrough when it was announced in October 2025, has instead become a cover for a relentless campaign of violence. The past few days have offered yet another grim illustration of this reality. On Saturday, Israeli strikes killed at least 11 people across the Gaza Strip, including four members of the same family who were asleep in their apartment in Gaza City.
In a separate attack, an Israeli drone strike targeted a house in the Bureij refugee camp, killing three people, among them Ahmed Wishah, a cameraman for Al Jazeera. Since the ceasefire took effect, more than 3,000 violations have been documented, and the death toll of Palestinians has surpassed 1,000.
Since October 10, 2025, the Israeli military has committed thousands of documented violations of the truce, transforming the term “ceasefire” from a promise of peace into a euphemism for a slow, grinding war of attrition. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israeli forces have killed at least 1,005 Palestinians and injured 3,157 others during this period. The Government Media Office in Gaza has documented a staggering 3,269 Israeli violations. The attacks have included airstrikes, artillery shelling, direct shootings, and incursions beyond the so called “yellow line,” all of which have consistently claimed civilian lives.
The international community has acknowledged the gravity of the situation. The UN Human Rights Chief has stated that nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, and UNICEF has described the truce as a “deadly illusion”. Yet, these condemnations have not translated into meaningful action to halt the violence. The same week that a child and an Al Jazeera journalist were killed, mediators were again attempting to salvage the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, a process that appears increasingly detached from the reality on the ground.
Wishah, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, was killed in a drone strike on his home in the Bureij camp. Al Jazeera condemned his killing, and his death brought the number of its staff members killed in Gaza since October 2023 to 12. The Israeli military, in a predictable pattern, justified the strike by claiming Wishah was a “Hamas terrorist”. This practice of retroactively labeling slain journalists as combatants has become a cornerstone of Israel’s strategy to shield itself from accountability.
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), more than 220 journalists have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since the war began, with at least 70 of them killed in the context of their professional duties. The year 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists globally, with Gaza as the epicenter of this violence. RSF has gone so far as to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court, documenting the direct targeting of at least 30 journalists between May 2024 and August 2025. Beyond the killings, journalists have been systematically detained, with 153 arrested since the war began, and 255 injured, some with life altering disabilities.
The targeting extends beyond the journalists themselves to their families. Attacks have killed at least 436 relatives of journalists in 2023, followed by roughly 203 in 2024, suggesting a deliberate strategy to intimidate and silence those who bear witness.
The core of the crisis is a deeply entrenched culture of impunity. Israel has consistently violated international law with no meaningful consequences, emboldening its military to continue its campaign. The international community, while issuing condemnations, has failed to enforce its own resolutions or hold perpetrators accountable. The ICC has yet to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli officials responsible for the systematic targeting of civilians and journalists, despite growing evidence of war crimes.
For the relatives of the Al Safadi family, killed in their sleep, and for the colleagues of Ahmed Wishah, the failure of the international community is a profound betrayal. The world has watched as more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire was declared, as journalists have been systematically assassinated, and as a people have been subjected to relentless violence under the guise of a truce.