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By Nimisha Jaiswal (Student), and Dr. Nipunika Shahid, Media Studies, School of Social Sciences, Christ University Delhi NCR
New Delhi | 8 December 2025
More than two months since the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza came into effect, the region shows no meaningful signs of peace. The ceasefire, announced with global applause, has proved hollow on the ground. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration—“The war has not ended”—was not rhetoric but policy direction. Gaza continues to be bombarded, starved, displaced, and suffocated under systematic violence that many international observers now openly describe as genocide.
The death toll exceeds 70,000 Palestinians, including at least 28,000 children, according to humanitarian agencies operating inside Gaza. More than 10,800 Palestinians are currently detained, many under Administrative Detention, which allows imprisonment without trial—one of the highest recorded numbers in the region’s history.
This is not a temporary escalation. It is a two-year continuum of destruction, enabled by political paralysis and global power imbalances that have made the ceasefire more symbolic than real.
Ceasefire Violated Over 500 Times: A Breakdown of the Numbers
According to compiled reports from Al Jazeera, OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), and the Palestinian Red Crescent:
• 513 confirmed Israeli violations since the ceasefire began.
• 340+ Palestinians killed during the ceasefire period alone.
• 1,900+ injured, many in targeted attacks, sniper fire, or drone strikes.
• Over 120 residential structures destroyed, even after the ceasefire was announced.
• Seven UNRWA relief convoys attacked or obstructed, despite bearing internationally recognised markings.
This makes the ceasefire one of the most violated truce agreements in modern conflict history.
Types of Violations Documented
- Airstrikes in designated “safe zones.”
- Sniper fire on civilians attempting to access aid.
- Demolition of homes in Beit Hanoun, Khan Younis, and Jabalia.
- Detention raids during night hours.
- Restrictions on fuel and electricity supplies, often reduced to less than 10% of Gaza’s basic requirement.
International law experts note that ceasefire violations at this scale—and targeting civilian infrastructure—may constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Ceasefire Conditions: What Was Agreed vs. What Happened
The second phase of the ceasefire laid out clear, reciprocal conditions:
Hamas was responsible for:
• Releasing live Israeli captives.
• Returning the bodies of two deceased captives.
Hamas publicly confirmed compliance through the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross).
Israel was responsible for:
• Allowing unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza.
• Avoiding offensive operations.
• Permitting fuel, medical supplies, and food trucks safe passage.
Ground Reality (based on UN and NGO documentation):
• Only 18–21% of the required humanitarian aid actually entered Gaza.
• Fuel deliveries met less than 7% of critical medical needs.
• Out of 200+ planned aid convoys, over half were delayed or denied.
• Medical supplies for surgeries, burn treatments, and maternity wards remained critically short.
Israel’s repeated claims that Hamas violated terms have not been substantiated by independent monitors. Instead, humanitarian agencies assert that Israel maintained control of crossings to exert political and military pressure.
The US Role: Strategic Ambiguity and Political Calculations
The United States, led by President Donald Trump, positioned itself as chief mediator. But analysts widely agree that American involvement was:
• largely symbolic,
• strategically selective,
• and politically motivated—driven more by Trump’s pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize than by humanitarian urgency.
The US simultaneously continued:
• military aid to Israel,
• diplomatic shielding at the UN Security Council (vetoing 5 resolutions critical of Israel since 2024), and
• blocking ICC initiatives investigating Israeli actions.
This resulted in what experts call “dual signalling”—promoting ceasefire diplomacy while materially supporting the continuation of war.
Global Protests: The Largest Pro-Palestine Movement in History
From New York to Nairobi and Paris to Kuala Lumpur, more than 70 million people participated in protests between October 2024 and December 2025—one of the largest global protest waves of the 21st century.
• In London, a march of 1.2 million became the city’s largest political demonstration since the Iraq War protests of 2003.
• In Delhi, student groups, civil society organisations, and faith communities formed 4-km long human chains.
• Social media campaigns generated billions of impressions, shaping digital history.
Yet the shocking reality remains: global outrage had no measurable impact on the ground situation.
International relations scholars describe this as the “crisis of global governance”—where moral pressure exists, but political leverage does not.
Why This Conflict Resists Resolution
To understand the present, one must revisit the architecture of the conflict.
- Settler Colonialism and Territorial Control
Israel’s settlements in the West Bank have expanded continuously, with more than 760,000 settlers now residing in occupied territories—an explicit violation of UN resolutions. This expansion reflects a long-standing ideological commitment to territorial acquisition. - Fragmented Palestinian Governance
The internal political divide between Hamas (Gaza) and the Palestinian Authority (West Bank) weakens unified negotiation capacity, enabling Israel to operate with fewer diplomatic constraints. - Religious-Geopolitical Claims
Jerusalem’s significance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam turns political disputes into existential identity battles, often exploited by political actors for electoral gains. - Imperialist Power Structures
The region remains shaped by:
• US military interests,
• European post-colonial policy defaults,
• Strategic alliances centred around natural gas fields and trade routes.
As Dr. Judith Anne Lal argues, these layers produce permanent asymmetry that prevents sustainable peace.
“This is not just a military conflict—it is a structural conflict,” she explains.
“Until the architecture of inequality is dismantled, ceasefires will remain fragile illusions.”
Humanitarian Crisis: A Society Pushed 20 Years Back
Humanitarian data paints a devastating picture:
Infrastructure Collapse
• 92% of Gaza’s water is undrinkable.
• 38 out of 41 hospitals are partially or fully non-functional.
• UNRWA schools shelter nearly 1.4 million displaced people.
• Electricity averages 1–2 hours a day, sometimes none.
Universities and Education
UN reports confirm that:
• All major universities—Islamic University of Gaza, Al-Azhar University, and University College of Applied Sciences—have suffered structural collapse.
• Over 500 educators and professors have been killed since 2023.
• Students now attend classes under tents or in partially bombed buildings.
Olive Farms: A Cultural and Economic Tragedy
More than 100,000 olive trees—some centuries old—have been uprooted. For Palestinians, olive trees are not only agricultural assets; they are symbols of identity, resilience, and ancestry. Their destruction represents cultural erasure.
Children: The Most Devastated Group
UNICEF reports that:
• 4 out of 5 Gaza children show signs of trauma.
• Thousands have lost limbs due to airstrikes without access to advanced medical care.
• Many children are now working long hours to support families, some as young as 8.
The psychological scars of this conflict will shape Gaza for decades.
Mass Graves: The Darkest Chapter
The discovery of mass graves outside hospitals and destroyed neighbourhoods has horrified the global community. Many bodies show signs of:
• gunshot wounds at close range,
• binding marks,
• torture-like injuries,
• and in some cases, missing organs.
With morgues destroyed and cemeteries overflowing, families bury their loved ones in makeshift graves—without names, without rites, without closure.
This is not only a humanitarian failure; it is a moral collapse of the international system.
Will This War Ever End?
The unanswered questions that haunt Gaza are painfully human:
• Will the next airstrike fall on us?
• Will my children survive the winter?
• Will I ever return to my home?
As Dr. Judith warns, the conflict may continue unless structural power dynamics fundamentally shift. Yet history also teaches us that no regime of oppression lasts forever.
The resilience of Gaza’s people—their refusal to disappear, their courage to rebuild even in ashes—remains the strongest testimony that humanity’s struggle against injustice endures.
For now, dawn still seems distant.
But the people of Gaza continue to remind the world:
Silence does not erase injustice—only resistance does.