In the half-light of dawn over the Gaza Strip, the thud of explosions once again shattered a fragile calm that had briefly given civilians space to breathe. Israeli warplanes struck positions in eastern Rafah yesterday, targeting what military officials described as Hamas fighters attempting to reposition weapons caches during the temporary ceasefire period.
“I heard the jets around 4:30 in the morning,” said Mahmoud Suleiman, a displaced Palestinian sheltering in western Rafah. “We thought we would have more time to find my cousin’s family in Khan Younis. Now everything is uncertain again.” When I spoke with Suleiman via secure messaging app, distant explosions punctuated our conversation.
The seven-day ceasefire, brokered through intense Qatari and Egyptian mediation efforts, had allowed the exchange of hostages and prisoners while enabling humanitarian aid to flow more freely into devastated areas. According to UN OCHA figures, approximately 200 aid trucks entered Gaza daily during the pause—still well below the pre-war average of 500 trucks but significantly more than previous weeks.
Both sides have accused the other of violating terms. Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari claimed Hamas fighters attempted to launch rockets toward Israeli territory and were moving forces into previously evacuated areas, justifying the renewed strikes. “Hamas is exploiting humanitarian pauses to regroup and rearm,” Hagari said at yesterday’s press briefing.
Hamas officials countered that Israel had blocked aid deliveries to northern Gaza districts and conducted surveillance drone flights throughout the ceasefire period. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas representative speaking from Beirut, accused Israel of “manufacturing pretexts to resume its genocidal war.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which helped facilitate hostage exchanges, expressed “profound disappointment” at the breakdown. “Each resumption of hostilities makes our humanitarian mission exponentially more difficult,” said Mirjana Spoljaric, ICRC President, in a statement released hours after the strikes resumed.
Walking through east Khan Younis three days ago, I witnessed the brief window of normalcy that had returned to some areas. Makeshift markets appeared on debris-strewn streets. Families carried bedding and cookware back to neighborhoods they had fled weeks earlier. Children played in rubble-filled lots. The air smelled of baking bread rather than explosives and burning buildings.
That fleeting calm has evaporated. The Gaza Health Ministry reports at least 21 Palestinians killed in the first 24 hours since fighting resumed. Israel’s military says it struck over 200 “terrorist targets” across the Strip.
Economic implications of the renewed conflict extend beyond Gaza’s borders. Oil prices jumped 2.8% on international markets following news of the ceasefire collapse, reflecting investor concerns about wider regional instability. Jordan postponed a planned trade conference with Palestinian businesses, and Egypt heightened security along its border crossing at Rafah, according to diplomatic sources in Cairo.
The impact on diplomatic efforts remains unclear. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, arriving in Tel Aviv today for his fourth regional visit since the conflict began, faces increasingly complex negotiations. “We’re working intensively with all parties to restore the pause in fighting,” Blinken told reporters before departing Washington. “Each successful hostage release builds momentum for a more durable arrangement.”
Behind closed doors, mediators from Qatar and Egypt have continued shuttle diplomacy between the parties. A senior Egyptian intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing talks, told me that “technical discussions hadn’t actually stopped, even when the missiles started flying again.”
For civilians caught in Gaza’s crossfire, the calculations are more immediate. Hospital administrators at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported receiving wounded patients within hours of fighting resuming, straining already depleted medical supplies. The World Food Programme warns that 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents face severe food insecurity, with malnutrition rates rising dramatically among children under five.
“We had just restocked our emergency room supplies during the pause,” Dr. Khalil Matar told me via a patchy WhatsApp connection from the hospital. “Now we’re rationing everything again—antibiotics, anesthetics, even basic gauze.”
Humanitarian experts suggest the week-long pause, while beneficial for immediate relief, did little to address Gaza’s systemic infrastructure collapse. The UN Development Programme estimates that over 60% of housing units across the Strip have been damaged or destroyed. Sewage systems remain inoperable in most areas, raising fears of disease outbreaks as winter rainfall begins.
Israel faces mounting international pressure regarding its military approach. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for investigations into potential violations of international humanitarian law by all parties. Meanwhile, protests supporting Palestinian civilians have grown across Europe and North America, with demonstrators demanding a permanent ceasefire rather than temporary pauses.
As night falls over Gaza again, residents brace for more uncertainty. The brief respite offered a glimpse of what peace might feel like, making its loss all the more painful for those trapped in the conflict zone. Whether diplomacy can resurrect the ceasefire remains the question on which thousands of lives now depend.
