Thursday marked the 1,000th day of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Other conflicts have emerged in the region, and fragile ceasefires show scars of persistent attacks.
The fate of over 2 million Palestinians in besieged Gaza, largely displaced and living amid ruins, remains uncertain. Israeli forces occupied over half of the territory under the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, but Israel’s government has expanded that and says it aims to hold 70 percent.
Few people can get in or out. Further ceasefire steps, including Palestinian resistance group Hamas’s disarmament and the immense task of reconstruction, have stalled.
“Much more needs to be done so that even a semblance of normality can come back, and we are far, far away from this,” the International Committee of the Red Cross regional director, Nicolas von Arx, said this week.
Here’s a look at what has happened over the 1,000 days and what may lie ahead.
Palestinians are still being killed
Israeli strikes have lessened since the ceasefire took effect, but they continue almost daily.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza counted 1,053 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire as of Tuesday, including over 350 women and children. In recent days, they included a teenage girl on her way to school and a mother with her 1-year-old daughter.
The ministry said over 3,400 people have been wounded since the ceasefire.
The United Nations on Wednesday warned that Israel’s expanding occupation in Gaza increases deadly risks for civilians in “areas lacking clear demarcation on the ground.”
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On October 7 2023, Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups conducted “Operation Al Aqsa Flood” in southern Israel. The blitz killed about 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostage. All hostages or their remains have been freed or handed over.
Israel’s ensuing genocidal war has killed a total of 73,066 Palestinians as of Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Board of Peace has made little progress
The top diplomat overseeing the ceasefire, Nickolay Mladenov, has made it clear: The next steps in implementing the US-brokered deal are stalled over the issue of Hamas disarming.
This has been a high-profile test of the Board of Peace created and led by US President Donald Trump. Launched with fanfare and billions of dollars in international pledges earlier this year with the sole aim of Gaza’s recovery from war, the board now says little publicly.
Hamas has not outright rejected disarming, but insists Israel must first honour its own commitments under the agreement, including withdrawing from Gaza rather than expanding its occupation under the pretext of the “Yellow Line” and halting the daily killings that have continued even under the ceasefire.
