Palestinians are still suffering six months into Gaza ceasefire

The ceasefire has not translated into protection for civilians

Over the past six months since the October 10 ceasefire, at least 733 people have been killed and 1,913 have been injured, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health (figures as of April 8). Amid ever-expanding Israeli military control of the Gaza Strip, MSF teams have responded to multiple mass casualty incidents on a monthly basis, treating at least 244 patients for injuries caused by Israeli attacks, including many children. 

Since the ceasefire, MSF teams have provided over 40,000 dressings for patients with wounds from violent trauma, including gunshots, blasts, or other kinds of weapons. In that same period, medical teams have treated over 15,000 trauma cases in MSF’s two field hospitals alone, both from recent injuries and wounds requiring long-term care. In MSF’s clinic in Gaza City, over 18,000 wound dressings were done, with over 60 percent for trauma wounds.  

“Six months on, the ceasefire has failed to end the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, with Israeli authorities continuing to impose conditions intended to destroy conditions of life,” says Claire San Filippo, emergency manager for MSF. “Despite the reduction of the intensity of violence, Israeli attacks are continuous and the situation remains catastrophic. People’s needs are massive, yet Israeli authorities have continued to systematically restrict the entry of humanitarian aid.” 

Israel is blocking essential supplies and humanitarian aid

Palestinians face shortages of clean water, food, electricity, and access to health care. The decimated health system is being further strangled by obstructions to aid, and by Israel’s deregistration of 37 international NGOs providing vital assistance in Gaza, including MSF. 

Since January 1, MSF has been blocked by Israeli authorities from bringing any medical or humanitarian supplies into Gaza. At the same time, Israel is also preventing most medical evacuations for patients needing specialized care outside of Gaza. Currently, over 18,500 people in Gaza remain on the medical evacuation list, including 4,000 children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

MSF’s health facilities are facing critical shortages of medicine and medical equipment including gauze, compresses, sterile medical equipment (gloves, gowns, and disinfectant for surfaces), and medication, including medicines for non-communicable diseases like insulin for diabetes.

“All the elderly people in our family have unfortunately passed away during this catastrophic war,” says Rami Abu Anza, an MSF nurse in Gaza. “They all had chronic diseases, and they suffered due to the unavailability of these medications, in addition to the living conditions and the collapse of the health care system.”

These shortages are impacting critical treatments for chronic diseases, increasing suffering for people in Gaza while also stripping away their dignity.

“We suffered a lot to get treatment,” says Mohammed Abo Zaina, a 69-year-old MSF patient. “We can’t find blood pressure medication, nor diabetes medication, nor heart medication. We suffered mentally and physically. And we are elderly people. We are very, very exhausted. Nothing is available. No living, no dignified life, no shelter, no livelihood.”

In Gaza, approximately 90 percent of people have been forcibly displaced, often multiple times, and live in tents or makeshift shelters. The situation has not significantly improved since the ceasefire. In MSF-supported primary health care centers in Al-Mawasi and Al-Attar, Khan Younis, between October 2025 and March 2026 the most prevalent health conditions were directly linked to dire living conditions and overcrowding, including upper respiratory infections (42 percent), skin diseases such as scabies and lice (16.7 percent), and diarrhea (8.4 percent).

Violently trapped by a constantly shifting “yellow line”

People's living space in Gaza is continuously shrinking and framed by violence. Since the ceasefire, the Gaza Strip has been effectively divided along the “yellow line,” which marks an area under full Israeli military control (58 percent of the territory), pushing Palestinians into only 42 percent of the largely destroyed territory. The “yellow line” is not clearly marked and is continuously shifting westward to the sea, squeezing hundreds of thousands of people into a tiny, overcrowded patch of land. The perimeter of the “yellow line” has become a kill zone, with gunfire, airstrikes, and shelling by Israeli forces happening daily. Israeli warships are also firing from the sea, trapping people with active firing on all sides. 

On April 6, at least 10 people were killed and several others wounded near Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza following armed clashes and an Israeli strike. MSF teams at our field hospital in Deir al-Balah treated 16 patients, half of them with critical injuries.

“Among the critical cases, there were two young girls of 7 and 8 years old,” says Dr. Murad Saliha, an MSF doctor. “Both of them had life-threatening injuries and were rushed to emergency surgery. Fortunately, despite limited resources, our medical team was able to save both their lives.”

MSF calls on world leaders and governments, including the United States, Arab states, and the European Union and its member states, to use all political means to put pressure on Israeli authorities to protect civilians, restore dignified conditions of life, and urgently allow unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel has this obligation as the occupying power.