One year after a US-brokered ceasefire was announced in the Gaza Strip, residents still living in displacement camps under near-daily Israeli airstrikes say the truce has not brought the promised peace. Israel has reduced the intensity of its attacks but has kept up its strikes and now controls about 70 percent of Gaza, while the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory called for under the ceasefire plan has still not materialised.
"Nothing has changed for the better; everything has gotten worse, they lie to us, it is all lies," Fatima Awkal, a displaced woman in Gaza City, told us. "Martyrs are still falling, people are still being injured, the shelling continues, and we cannot even find a moment's peace from the constant buzzing of the drones overhead."
On the streets of Gaza City, rows of white tents line passageways that have been cleared of rubble from destroyed homes, while in the distance, blown-out windows gape from the facades of buildings that remain standing. Ahmed Jonaid, another displaced Palestinian in Gaza City, said he had hoped to return home after the ceasefire.
"We thought we would experience some happiness and return to our homes. Instead, we see ourselves suffering in refugee camps, sleeping on makeshift mats," the 51-year-old said as he carried two jerricans of water back to his tent.
Almost all of Gaza's more than two million residents were displaced at least once during the war that broke out with Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. With 82 percent of all standing structures in Gaza either damaged or destroyed as of mid-2026 per the United Nations (UN), many residents still live in tents or makeshift shelters, where overcrowding and a lack of hygiene have led to outbreaks of disease.
Ahmed Shawan, a doctor at a hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, said that he had yet to see the ceasefire take effect on the ground. "It has been a full year since the ceasefire was declared, yet it exists only on paper," he said.
The international community, which initially hailed the ceasefire as a breakthrough, has largely remained silent as the humanitarian crisis deepens. Aid organizations report that the flow of essential supplies, including medicine and clean water, remains severely restricted by ongoing military blockades.
For the children of Gaza, the past year has been defined by the loss of schools and playgrounds. Many have spent their formative months in cramped tents, witnessing the destruction of their neighborhoods and the loss of family members, leaving deep psychological scars that experts warn will last for generations.
As the sun sets over the ruins of Gaza, the sound of drones remains a constant reminder of the fragility of life. The residents continue to wait for a reality that matches the promises made by global powers, but for now, the cycle of displacement and despair shows no sign of ending.
The situation remains critical, with local authorities calling for an immediate and unconditional lifting of restrictions to allow for the massive reconstruction effort required to make the territory habitable again.