Gaza After Nearly 11 Months of the Ceasefire: A Gap Between Declared Commitments and the Field and Humanitarian Reality
5/9/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The Union for Justice Foundation stated in its comprehensive field and assessment report that, 11 months after the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, the Gaza Strip is witnessing an unprecedented widening of the gap between the agreement’s declared provisions and the reality experienced on the ground. The Foundation explained that the agreement—which civilians had welcomed with hope for achieving stability and reducing humanitarian suffering—has turned into an “agreement without implementation,” amid the continuation of violations and military practices that obstruct the implementation of all its fundamental provisions and perpetuate a devastating humanitarian crisis. Through the international understandings reached, Gaza was promised a set of essential commitments, including: the commencement of comprehensive reconstruction operations, a complete and total cessation of hostilities, the entry of humanitarian aid without any restrictions, and the complete withdrawal of the occupying forces from all areas of the Strip. However, field monitoring demonstrated that these promises remained ink on paper, without any actual implementation that would contribute to ending the suffering.
The Foundation explained that the outcome of the past 11 months records a tragic field reality that completely contradicts the principles of de-escalation. The Foundation documented more than 4,379 ceasefire violations and more than 1,334 Palestinian martyrs who were killed as a result of direct targeting and repeated violations, in addition to approximately 4,429 injuries resulting from shelling and sporadic explosions. In parallel, the “Israeli” occupation continued its military control over extensive areas of the Strip, which reduced the space available to civilians and obstructed their return to their areas. This fragmented the areas and prevented citizens from returning to their lands. The volume of aid permitted to enter did not exceed 35% of the total number of trucks carrying essential supplies, which resulted in suffocating the Strip, destroying health and service facilities, and halting all reconstruction projects and the rehabilitation of destroyed infrastructure.
The Foundation pointed to the serious health and humanitarian repercussions resulting from this systematic obstruction. The deterioration of the health situation is worsening, while epidemics and skin and intestinal diseases are increasing among displaced persons due to the lack of medical care and supplies, the collapse of the health system, and the closure of hospitals. Amid severe heat waves during the summer season, the suffering of hundreds of thousands of families living in dilapidated tents that lack the most basic necessities of life, ventilation, and safe drinking water is intensifying, turning the tents into an environment unsuitable for human survival and increasing cases of fainting and heat exhaustion among children and the elderly. The Foundation also highlighted the severe suffering faced by patients and the wounded amid strict restrictions on travel through the crossings, as only a very limited number of wounded persons in critical conditions and those suffering from incurable diseases are able to leave to receive treatment abroad. This exposes the lives of hundreds of them to increasing danger and deprives them of timely, life-saving treatment.
The Union for Justice Foundation affirms that the continuation of violations, the targeting of civilians, the obstruction of the entry of aid trucks, and the deprivation of the population of medical treatment and reconstruction constitute a flagrant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which obliges the parties to the conflict to protect civilians, facilitate the passage of relief, and support the health system without obstacles.
The Union for Justice Foundation affirms that imposing military control over vast areas, the continuation of shelling, the deliberate infliction of severe suffering, and the obstruction of medical care fall within the acts criminalized under Article (8) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and necessitate activating criminal accountability mechanisms to ensure that those responsible for these violations do not escape punishment.
It also affirms that the legal and international position requires moving beyond condemnatory statements, as this systematic obstruction of the provisions of the agreement and the deprivation of the basic necessities of life contradict United Nations resolutions and the commitments of the international community concerning lifting the blockade and achieving stability and human security.
The Union for Justice Foundation calls upon the international community and the parties guaranteeing the ceasefire agreement to intervene immediately and directly to compel all parties to faithfully and fully implement the provisions of the agreement, immediately halt the violations, allow the complete withdrawal, and open the way for the movement of citizens. It also calls for the immediate and full opening of all border crossings without restrictions, to ensure the flow of 100% of humanitarian aid trucks, medical equipment, and reconstruction materials, and to facilitate the departure of all patients and wounded persons who require urgent treatment abroad without obstruction.
The Union for Justice Foundation calls upon humanitarian and United Nations organizations to send urgent relief and medical teams to address the spread of diseases and epidemics in displaced persons’ camps, and to provide healthy shelter alternatives that protect displaced persons from the severity of the heat and environmental deterioration during the summer season.
The Union for Justice Foundation demands that the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Human Rights Council open official investigations into the crimes and violations recorded during the past eleven months, and provide comprehensive international protection for the Palestinian people to ensure the restoration of their legitimate rights and protect them from policies of collective punishment and displacement.
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