One year after a US-brokered ceasefire brought a temporary halt to full-scale combat in Gaza, Donald Trump’s Board of Peace has failed to achieve its core stabilization goals, leaving the enclave under expanded Israeli military control and facing severe humanitarian crises.
Three years have passed since the outbreak of hostilities on October 7, 2023, altering the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and leaving civilian populations on both sides to cope with ongoing trauma and destruction. While an agreement signed a year ago was intended to pave a credible pathway toward recovery, the reality on the ground for millions of residents remains marked by severe scarcity, displacement, and persistent military operations.
What Was the Board of Peace Expected to Accomplish?
Proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in September 2025, the Board of Peace was established to oversee a 20-point recovery framework designed to stabilize the Gaza Strip. The arrangement took effect with a ceasefire on October 10, 2025, backed by a planned six-month, $2.45 billion recovery initiative and a subsequent 66-project recovery plan valued at $2.4 billion. In November, a United Nations Security Council resolution recognized the board as a transitional administration in Gaza.
The framework outlined specific mutual obligations intended to de-escalate the conflict. It required Israeli forces to withdraw to approximately 50 percent of the Gaza Strip, halt aerial and artillery bombardments, and release 250 Palestinian prisoners alongside 1,700 individuals detained from Gaza since the war began. In exchange, Hamas was expected to disarm and release all remaining captives.
Why Analysts Say the Ceasefire Framework Has Failed
Despite the formal agreement, independent observers and international organizations report that the truce exists largely in name only. Simon Mabon, a professor at Lancaster University, described the initiative as having failed to hold the primary parties to their commitments, allowing widespread destruction to persist. International pressure has mounted over the past year, with a UN commission of inquiry finding in June that Israeli authorities and security forces have committed genocide and war crimes by intentionally targeting Palestinian children.
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On the ground, Israeli military forces now occupy roughly 60 percent of the Gaza Strip, exceeding the initial 50 percent withdrawal threshold set out in the U.S.-led peace plan. In December, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the military would not fully leave the territory. The Israel Defense Forces defended its ongoing operations by citing the continued military buildup of armed groups and Hamas’s refusal to disarm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet that because Hamas is weak, it would attempt to challenge Israel with its remaining strength ahead of upcoming elections, while the defense minister ordered the IDF to prepare for scenarios based on intelligence that Hamas intends to attack Israeli forces in the Strip.
“Claims that Israel is violating the ceasefire agreement disregard the continued military activity and military buildup of terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, their plans to carry out attacks against Israel, as well as Hamas’s refusal to disarm, which are contrary to the agreement.”
The IDF, via The Independent
How Daily Survival Unfolds Across the Enclave
For the more than two million residents remaining in Gaza, the past year has brought little relief from hardship. Humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations report that over 1,400 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire agreement took effect, adding to a total death toll surpassing 74,000 since October 2023. Palestinian health officials indicate that more than 21,000 Palestinian children have been reported killed since the onset of the conflict, while the Palestinian Ministry of Education reports that over 20,500 school and university students have lost their lives over the three-year period. In September, a building collapse in Gaza City resulted in the deaths of 21 people, including 12 children.
Infrastructure damage remains catastrophic. Estimates from the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank indicate that a full reconstruction of the strip will cost $71.4 billion over the next decade. Healthcare services are severely compromised; Dr. Musallam Abukhalil, a 32-year-old physician from Nuseirat, noted that only 19 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functioning.
Daily routines for displaced families center on basic survival tasks. Water and sanitation systems have suffered extensive damage, with Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research reporting that nearly 90 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure has been impacted, discharging tens of thousands of cubic meters of untreated sewage daily. Economic devastation is equally profound, with UNCTAD reporting that 92% of Gaza’s economic establishments have been destroyed or damaged, real GDP per person dropping to $212 in 2025 (representing just 17% of 2022 levels), and over 90% of the working-age population left without employment.
In the southern Israeli town of Netiv HaAsara, teenage residents like Ron Shargian have described the psychological toll of growing up amid ongoing sirens and the constant need to rush for shelter, reflecting on the profound disruption to normal life since the October 7 attacks. Across the border in Gaza, teenagers such as Kazem Doghmash have shared similar sentiments, noting that the reality of the past three years has left them without safe spaces, destroyed educational routines, and stripped away the normal milestones of childhood.
As the conflict enters its fourth year, the diplomatic and humanitarian architecture established to bring lasting stability continues to face profound hurdles. Palestinian families displaced from areas such as Jabalia and Beit Hanoun remain unable to return to their original neighborhoods due to the expanding boundaries of the Yellow Line. With international bodies warning of ongoing atrocity crimes and mass-scale deprivation, organizations such as Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council emphasize that until fundamental restrictions on rebuilding materials, medical equipment, and humanitarian access are lifted, recovery for the population of Gaza will remain out of reach.
Legal and political reverberations continue to unfold internationally as well. The International Criminal Court has turned its focus toward accountability for alleged war crimes, while whistleblower reports in the United States have raised questions regarding political pressure on institutional investigations. As international diplomats evaluate the viability of transitional administrations and security forces, the gap between high-level diplomatic roadmaps and the grim realities faced by civilians on the ground shows the region remains fragile.
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Ultimately, the convergence of unresolved security concerns, profound economic ruin, and the vast scale of physical destruction ensures that the consequences of the past three years will shape the Middle East for generations. Whether through legal proceedings, international diplomatic pressure, or local efforts to restore basic infrastructure, the fundamental challenges of rebuilding civilian life in Gaza and securing lasting safety across the border remain entirely unaddressed by current arrangements.
For those living through the aftermath, the official end of major combat has brought neither safety nor restoration. As local journalists, humanitarian workers, and displaced families bear witness to the ongoing toll, the future of the enclave hangs in the balance, overshadowed by the reality that the promised peace remains an elusive illusion for millions.
The conflict also continues to influence global political discourse, affecting free speech debates, university policies, and diplomatic alignments across Western capitals and international institutions alike. With millions dependent on external aid and basic humanitarian relief, the international community faces sustained pressure to move beyond nominal ceasefires and address the root drivers of conflict and displacement in the territory.
As international agencies and local populations tally the immense human and material cost of the past three years, the imperative for genuine accountability and structural reconstruction grows ever more urgent. Until the core demands for safety, freedom of movement, and economic recovery are met, the enclave will remain trapped in a cycle of instability, displacement, and deprivation.