By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Violations of the US-brokered ceasefire

The Israeli military has launched an attack on Gaza, as Israel continued to trade blame with Palestinian militant group Hamas over violations of the US-brokered ceasefire aiming to end the war in the enclave, Israeli media reported on Oct 19.

There was no immediate comment from the military or Hamas on the reported attack.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said the air force was attacking Rafah in the south of Gaza. Most media outlets described the attack as an air strike.

The Israeli military said on Oct 17 that “several terrorists” opened fire on soldiers in the Rafah area, causing no injuries. The military later said it struck another group of “terrorists” that were approaching troops in Khan Younis on the same day. The military would continue to operate to remove immediate threats, it said.

The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.

Israel and Hamas have engaged in a row over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages. Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 12 of the deceased, but said the process needs effort and special equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble.

The Israeli military said on Friday that “several terrorists” opened fire on soldiers in the Rafah area, causing no injuries. The military later said it struck another group of “terrorists” that were approaching troops in Khan Younis on the same day. The military would continue to operate to remove immediate threats, it said.

The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.

Israel and Hamas have engaged in a row over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages. Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 12 of the deceased, but said the process needs effort and special equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble.

A statement described the violations as “a blatant breach of the ceasefire decision and of the principles of international humanitarian law.”

It further noted that the Israeli army committed these violations using military vehicles, tanks stationed on the outskirts of residential neighborhoods, and electronic cranes equipped with remote sensors and targeting systems, as well as quadcopter drones carrying out live-fire attacks on civilians.

The office stressed that its teams have documented these violations across all governorates of the Gaza Strip, asserting that “the occupation has not adhered to the ceasefire and continues its policy of killing and terrorizing Palestinians.”

It held Israel fully responsible for these actions and urged mediators and the UN to take urgent steps to compel Israel to halt its ongoing aggression and protect civilians in Gaza.

Above Hamas warriors

 

The yellow line

The Gaza Ministry of Health reports daily casualties from Israeli direct attacks, while the Israeli army claims its fire is in response to violations of the "yellow line."

The “yellow line” is a term introduced alongside the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, referring to areas inside Gaza from which Israeli forces have withdrawn and redeployed.

Palestinian children fill bottles with water from tanks brought in by trucks in Gaza City.

Since the ceasefire took effect, the Israeli army has pulled out from most parts of Gaza City, except for the Shejaya neighborhood and parts of the al-Tuffah and Zeitoun areas.

In Khan Younis, the army withdrew from central areas and parts of the east, while Palestinians remain barred from entering the northern towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, as well as Rafah city and the Gaza sea.

Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 11 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement.

The deal was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

At least 67,938 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including approximately 20,000 children.

Those are only the deceased who could be found and identified – at least 10,000 people are buried in the ruins, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense, whose teams are sifting through millions of tons of rubble and thousands of unexploded Israeli munitions among it. Gaza lacks the machinery and equipment for such a large-scale recovery effort, making the task even more difficult.

According to Trump’s ceasefire plan, a Palestinian technocratic administrative body will run the enclave, supervised by an international body called the “Board of Peace.” Trump will lead the board, along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who played a significant role in supporting the US invasion of Iraq that led to sectarian violence and the rise of ISIS.

A force of 200 US personnel will deploy in support of a temporary international force to stabilize the security situation. . But it’s not clear what countries will contribute to the force or how long it will be deployed. Its exact structure and details remain unclear. The US has said its own troops will not enter Gaza.

At the peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Trump promised there would be “a lot of money coming into Gaza.” He boasted during the trip that the region’s richest nations would pour money into the territory to rebuild. That commitment has yet to materialize, and the entire effort may rely on whether Trump remains engaged and can keep the ceasefire intact.

A joint assessment by the UN, the World Bank and the European Union estimated the recovery would take some $70 billion. Approximately $20 billion would be required in the first three years just to restore basic functions in Gaza, where schools, factories, and hospitals require major work or are beyond repair.

Gaza needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, even as necessities like food remain a critical challenge. Its population is still heavily reliant on aid – and likely will be for the foreseeable future, since Israel has destroyed and occupied much of the territory’s once-rich farmland.

In August, a UN-backed initiative, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), declared famine in parts of Gaza City, a humanitarian catastrophe that cannot be remedied overnight. The IPCs declaration prompted global outrage, and Israel increased the levels of aid it permitted to enter the strip. Since the ceasefire went into effect, the flow of aid has increased substantially. But while the ceasefire agreement calls for Israel to allow in 600 trucks of aid a day, the UN warns it’s a drop in the ocean.

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing wait to cross into Gaza.

Restrictions on aid should not be a bargaining chip, said the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher this week, adding: “We need massive amounts of humanitarian aid flowing into Gaza.”

The prices of vegetables, oil, and flour have soared since the war began. In August, onions cost 400 times more than they did at the outset of the war. While food prices fluctuate across the enclave, overall, they are starting to decline – but affordability remains a serious concern for most. In the absence of cooking gas, nearly two-thirds of households have resorted to burning waste to cook meals, according to the UN. Gaza’s economy has been buried in the ruins.

With few jobs and little access to cash, Gaza’s population has no choice but to rely on aid. For many, the sheer act of obtaining food of the last two years.

 

 

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