An Israeli military campaign in Gaza this week has severely tested a fragile US-brokered ceasefire, with airstrikes killing over 100 Palestinians and raising fears among the displaced population of a full-scale return to war.
The ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, faced its most serious challenge this week. The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes across Gaza, which Gaza’s civil defence agency and local hospitals stated killed at least 104 people. The Israeli military claimed the strikes were a response to attacks on its forces and targeted dozens of what it called "Hamas targets". However, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office accused Israel of conducting a "systematic campaign of misinformation" to justify crimes against civilians.
For the residents of Gaza, the renewed bombings felt like a revival of a two-year war that has already displaced most of the population and reduced much of the territory to wasteland. "We’re scared that another war will break out because we don’t want a war. We’ve suffered two years of displacement. We don’t know where to go," said Fathi Al-Najjar, a displaced resident in Khan Younis. Another resident, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, expressed a loss of hope, stating, "The situation is extremely difficult. The war is still ongoing, and we have no hope that it will end because of the conditions we are witnessing". This occurs in the context of a UN-confirmed famine in parts of Gaza and the destruction of nearly all residential buildings.
A key obstacle in the US-backed peace plan has been the return of the remains of hostages. Hamas has committed to handing over the bodies of all deceased hostages and has returned several, including two more on October 30. The group has stated that it needs more time to locate and retrieve the remaining bodies, a process it warns is made impossible by continued Israeli airstrikes and shelling. Israel has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the process.
The recent violence threatens to add to a death toll that has already reached catastrophic levels. According to a report from Al Jazeera, Israeli attacks over the past two years have killed at least 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with thousands more missing under the rubble. Over 169,000 people have been injured, and the assault has damaged or destroyed 92% of residential buildings, leaving millions displaced. A UN-backed global hunger monitor confirmed a famine in the enclave in August 2025, the first officially recognized in the Middle East.