Trump is close to a Ukraine ceasefire. But in Gaza, his peace deal is creaking

Donald Trump may be close to securing a peace deal in Ukraine, but his latest diplomatic triumph is unravelling in real time.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas over the bloody war in Gaza was signed last month after months of negotiations brokered by the US and supported by allies, including the UK.

Trump touted the moment as a “historic dawn of a new Middle East” and the end of a “painful nightmare” for both sides, suggesting it should hand him the Nobel Peace Prize.

But while there has been no formal reopening of hostilities since the deal was agreed, civilians in Gaza feel far from safe or any closer to peace.

At least 347 people, including 136 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire was announced on 9 October, according to Amnesty International this week.

As well as continued bombings, the human rights body said that Israel continues to limit aid and relief access, warning “there has been no meaningful change in the conditions Israel is inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza”.

Al Jazeera has reported “near-daily attacks on Gaza, with hundreds of ceasefire violations” since it was signed.

This week, video footage showed Israeli forces shooting dead two Palestinians who appeared to have surrendered in the occupied West Bank.

Israel said they were engaged in “terror activities” and that the incident was under review.

The IDF said that it will “continue to act to remove any immediate threat”, and accused Hamas of breaking the ceasefire by failing to return the hostage bodies, killing three Israeli soldiers and stalling in its disarming process.

Mai Elawawda, a Gaza-based aid worker with charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said that the situation had only worsened since the ceasefire, which was “only a headline that brings no change to people’s lives”.

“As time passes, it has become painfully clear that the suffering around us has not eased, it has only grown even deeper,” she told The i Paper.

“Tens of thousands of injured people still cannot access proper treatment, and hundreds of thousands of families are entering winter without proper shelter. Israel continues to block essential aid that could help people cope with their losses and protect their dignity.

“Some may believe the killing has stopped, but the threat to people’s lives remains constant and unchanged.”

Elawawda said that for those in Gaza, it felt as if the “world has moved on while the man-made crisis here in Gaza remains exactly the same”.

Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director for Save the Children in Gaza, said that the “horrors of the past two years are far from over”.

“The current pause in hostilities remains extremely fragile, with sustained attacks that have killed two children every day since it was announced,” she said.

The security situation has been worsened by extensive flooding, which have washed away the fragile tents many families were living in and spread sewage in streets.

Children have been left “sleeping on bare, sewage-soaked ground in flimsy clothes, with severe shortages of blankets, mattresses, warm clothing and safe shelter”, Cummings said, due to the decimation of sanitation systems mixed with sewage water.

“Huge quantities of essential supplies remain stuck at the border, people cannot repair their homes without tools or timber – which the Israeli authorities refuse to allow in.”

MAP said its aid workers had had to build soil barriers along the road to one clinic in Deir al Balah after a storm, to enable people to reach medical care.

The cold winter weather is further exacerbating the crisis.

“The risk of disease is soaring, with high rates of malnutrition from months of starvation weakening immune systems, and the winter weather poses a deadly threat,” Cummings said.

“At least 14 children died from hypothermia over the past two winters. This horror cannot be repeated.”

According to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023, when Israel launched a major air and ground offensive on the strip – a figure the UN’s human rights office says is probably an undercount.

The offensive began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,300 people and taking hundreds of hostages. All remaining living hostages were released back into Israel in mid-October as part of Trump’s peace deal.

A UN commission this year concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the report, calling it “distorted and false” and accusing the UN’s experts of being “Hamas proxies”.

COGAT, which is responsible for aid entering Gaza, said that Israel is “committed to and fully upholds its obligation to transfer humanitarian aid trucks in accordance with the agreement”.

It said that hundreds of trucks enter each day carrying food, water, fuel, gas, medicines, medical equipment, tents and shelter equipment, in close coordination with the UN.

COGAT also said it works with the UN to support sanitation and other infrastructure, including clearing waste piles, and has facilitated the transfer of close to 190,000 tents and tarpaulins into Gaza.

The Israeli Government and the IDF have been approached for comment.