Gaza death toll exceeds 74,000 as Trump peace plan stalls one year on

Stalled ceasefire and territorial expansion

Three years after the start of the war on 7 October 2023, fighting and bombardment continue across the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire enacted on 10 October 2025. The initial phase of the 20-point plan presented by US President Donald Trump secured the release of remaining Israeli hostages and hundreds of detained Palestinians. Subsequent phases requiring the full disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and governance by a transitional Palestinian body under the Board of Peace remain unfulfilled. Israeli forces have expanded their control from the 53% established by the initial yellow line to approximately 65% of the territory, or nearly two-thirds of the enclave. Israeli-backed Palestinian factions operating from Israeli-controlled zones have engaged in clashes with Hamas in the remaining pockets. Gaza health authorities report that at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since the truce began, while the Israeli military reports five soldier fatalities over the same period.

Toll of casualties and destroyed infrastructure

The three-year conflict has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, injured between 170,000 and 175,000 people, and left over 10,000 missing under the rubble. An estimated 20,000 children have lost both parents, while 82% of all physical infrastructure, including residences, schools, roads, and medical facilities, lies in ruins. The United Nations and humanitarian agencies calculate that 61 million tonnes of debris now cover the enclave. Approximately 65% of households inhabit temporary tents or makeshift structures, and 94% of the population requires emergency shelter support. Economic activity has virtually stopped, leaving 90% of working-age adults unemployed and 200,000 children without access to structured schooling.

Humanitarian collapse and mental health crisis

Aid deliveries remain restricted, with humanitarian organisations reporting that only 25% of necessary supplies enter Gaza through closed and regulated crossings. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, more than 1.2 million residents face acute hunger. Vital medical supplies, including chemotherapy agents, dialysis filters, radiotherapy equipment, and insulin, remain blocked or unfunded. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that more than one million children in Gaza require specialized psychosocial support, with 96% expressing the belief that death is imminent. Psychological assessments show post-traumatic stress disorder affects 61% of adolescents and 88% of adults, alongside widespread depression and anxiety.

Targeted press and civilian displacement

Journalists operating in the enclave face sustained danger, with approximately 250 media workers killed since October 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists identified the conflict as the deadliest recorded period for reporters, while UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk described the territory as a death trap for journalists. Individual families have experienced repeated loss and displacement, often moving more than a dozen times across temporary safe zones. Nisreen Touman, a 34-year-old resident of central Gaza whose husband and two young children died during a June 2024 strike in Nuseirat before her second husband was killed in July 2025, described her life prior to the conflict.

I had a home and a complete family. I got along with my husband, and we were friends.

Relief organisations on the ground report increasing disease transmission and rodent infestations as winter approaches, with rain and falling temperatures threatening the uninsulated coastal shelters housing over one million displaced residents.