Israeli forces have continued carrying out lethal operations in Gaza despite a cease-fire agreement that formally entered its second phase in mid-January, raising mounting questions about the deal’s durability as civilian deaths climb and humanitarian aid remains blocked.
Since Jan. 15, when the second phase was launched under a U.S.-brokered framework, at least 125 Palestinians have been killed and 272 wounded, according to Anadolu Agency’s (AA) compilation of official figures.
Gaza’s Health Ministry, tracking the broader period since the truce first took effect in October, puts the toll even higher, reporting more than 550 Palestinians killed despite the agreement.
Israeli forces have committed at least 276 documented violations during the second phase alone, including live fire targeting civilians, airstrikes, armored incursions into residential neighborhoods, home demolitions and targeted bombardments, according to Gaza authorities.
On Thursday, 27 Palestinians were killed and 18 wounded in strikes across the enclave, with casualties arriving at hospitals throughout Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes intensified over the past 48 hours, with the military saying the attacks were in response to injuries sustained by one of its soldiers near the cease-fire line.
Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said the majority of those killed were children, women and elderly people, a pattern echoed by hospital officials. Among the dead on Wednesday were five children, including two infants, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
As bodies arrived at hospitals, frustration spilled into public view.
"Where is the cease-fire? Where are the mediators?” wrote Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital, in a Facebook post that resonated across the devastated territory.
Aid blocked as humanitarian crisis deepens
Alongside the strikes, Israel has restricted the entry of food, medicine, medical equipment and shelter materials, despite provisions in the agreement calling for an immediate humanitarian surge.
Gaza’s roughly 2.4 million residents, including about 1.5 million displaced people, continue to face what aid agencies describe as catastrophic conditions.
The United Nations and humanitarian groups say aid deliveries have fallen well short due to customs clearance delays and access restrictions. Israel’s military coordination agency, COGAT, has rejected those claims, calling them false.
The Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopened this week, briefly raising hopes of progress, but fewer than 50 people were allowed to cross, underscoring how limited movement remains.
A fragile deal under strain
The cease-fire was meant to halt Tel Aviv's offensive launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, incursion into southern Israel, in which the Palestinian group killed about 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages.
Israel’s subsequent campaign devastated Gaza, killing nearly 72,000 Palestinians, wounding more than 170,000, and destroying about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure, according to Gaza authorities.
Under the U.S.-backed plan, accepted last October after months of stalled negotiations, Hamas released all living hostages it held at the outset of the deal in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
The remains of deceased hostages were also to be returned within a strict timeline.
However, Israel recovered the last body only last week, accusing Hamas of delays that the group attributed to the scale of destruction.
Key elements of the agreement have stalled, including the deployment of an international security force, Hamas’ disarmament, and the start of large-scale reconstruction.
While a Palestinian committee has been named to oversee governance and rebuilding, the future of Gaza remains unresolved.
Washington, which announced the start of the second phase in mid-January after delays, said it envisioned further Israeli troop withdrawals, transitional governance arrangements and reconstruction efforts.
Last month, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said the process must move from cease-fire toward "demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction.”
Mutual accusations, growing despair
Israel says it remains committed to the cease-fire but accuses Hamas of operating beyond the truce line bisecting Gaza, threatening troops and occasionally opening fire.
Hamas, in turn, accuses Israeli forces of repeatedly striking residential areas far from the line, calling the attacks a "grave circumvention of the cease-fire agreement.”
In a joint statement, eight Arab and Muslim countries condemned Israel’s actions since the agreement took effect and urged restraint by all sides to preserve the truce.
Despite official assurances, despair is spreading among Palestinians.
"We don’t know if we’re at war or at peace,” said Atallah Abu Hadaiyed, speaking from a displacement camp after explosions rocked Gaza City during morning prayers, killing his cousins as flames engulfed nearby homes.