Gaza Ceasefire Anniversary: Over 1,400 Killed 'Under Peace,' Reconstruction and 'Peace Council' Plan Stalled

On the first anniversary of the ceasefire agreement, the Gaza Strip has not found genuine calm. According to BBC reporting, figures from Gaza's health authorities show that since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, with over 30 killed in just the past week. The cumulative death toll from Israeli attacks over three years has surpassed 74,000, including more than 300 children killed since the ceasefire. The health authority is run by Hamas, but the United Nations considers its figures credible.

"The ceasefire ended mass bombardment, but BBC on-the-ground reporting shows that shootings, drone strikes and military vehicle fire — occurring almost daily — have not stopped. On the morning of September 21, Feida al-Tutta, a 31-year-old mother of five, was shot in the head while braiding her daughter's hair in a tent in central Gaza. Her son Izz wept to the BBC: "Our mother was so kind and generous. What did she do wrong?" Her husband Ahmed said: "The (ceasefire) is all lies. Every day there is gunfire. Death is everywhere." The Israel Defense Forces, responding to BBC inquiries, said they had "no record" of the incident.

"On the same day, 14-year-old Ismail al-Badawil was shot and killed in the Mediterranean Sea, about 20 meters from the shore in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah. His family told the BBC that he was fishing with his brothers at the time and was shot dead by Israeli forces. The Israeli military likewise told the BBC it had no information on the incident.

"BBC reporting noted that the Israeli military's stated justification for its ongoing attacks is to target Hamas operatives and blames the other party for ceasefire violations. During the ceasefire, at least seven Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza. With the casualty figures on both sides grossly unequal, the terms of the ceasefire have in practice become difficult to guarantee for civilian safety — the unilateral declaration that the other side has "broken the rules" suffices as a basis for continued strikes, steadily hollowing out the ceasefire on the Gaza side.

"According to UN figures cited by the BBC, the vast majority of Gaza's 2.1 million people have been repeatedly displaced, with many sheltering in tent cities and unsafe buildings, some camps even built below sea level. Feida's brother Ibrahim told the BBC: "We left our community to stay alive, but death is still chasing us." The family has been displaced seven times.

"The reconstruction process that the ceasefire was supposed to launch has yet to begin. BBC reporting noted that the deadlock in the second phase is the immediate cause, but a deeper obstacle is Israel's strict control over supplies and construction materials entering the territory. Israel says this is "out of its own security considerations." The result is that displaced people have nowhere to return to and no homes to construct.

"As reconstruction stalls, a US$2.45 billion Gaza reconstruction plan proposed by US President Trump's "Peace Council" has been put forward. But displaced persons interviewed by the BBC expressed skepticism. A mother named Amal told the BBC: "We are struggling to survive, not allowed to rebuild. I don't think they have told us the truth — the truth about building a safe future for our children." This skepticism points to a structural reality: when the cement, steel and heavy machinery needed for reconstruction remain subject to unilateral review by the controlling party, no external plan can truly take hold.