One year after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza on 10 October 2025, Human Rights Watch has drawn a sobering conclusion. In a statement published on the anniversary, the organisation said that Israeli forces continue to kill and wound civilians and to deny Palestinians in Gaza sufficient food, aid and water.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, continuing Israeli attacks since the ceasefire have killed at least 1,400 Palestinians and wounded 4,881 others. This brings the death toll since October 2023 to more than 74,000, including over 21,000 children. Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of persistent grave violations, including forced displacement, during the ceasefire period.
The ceasefire is part of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. A Board of Peace, authorised under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, is tasked with assessing whether the parties comply with the plan. Humanitarian relief and the restoration of essential civilian infrastructure are central elements. Yet a year on, aid volumes remain far below required levels, key humanitarian access routes have repeatedly been obstructed, and reconstruction has not begun.
The scale of the task is enormous. The European Union and the United Nations estimate Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction needs at 71.4 billion US dollars over the next decade. On 23 September the Board of Peace presented a six-month Gaza recovery programme, ready to begin as soon as funding and access allow, but no recovery work has started so far.
Human Rights Watch called on other countries to take immediate measures to protect civilians and to ensure that a rights-based reconstruction begins. The organisation urged world leaders to reject any proposals for forced displacement and to support Palestinians’ right to rebuild their lives in Gaza. The anniversary comes amid ongoing tensions in the wider region, including continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Syria.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera (10 October 2026)
