In brief
Despite a ceasefire in Gaza, the situation remains dire for many Palestinians as rising prices and food shortages threaten their livelihoods. With global focus shifting towards Iran, locals express despair at being overlooked while reconstruction efforts remain stalled. President Trump's peace plan is under pressure as Hamas shows signs of rejecting disarmament proposals, potentially signaling a return to conflict. Experts are pessimistic about the implementation of aid and rebuilding efforts amid uncertainty.
Nearly six months after a fragile ceasefire came into force in Gaza, Palestinians in this war-torn territory are still struggling. In the markets, there are again shortages of some goods and rising prices – with merchants saying supplies brought in from Israel have been disrupted by the new war in the region. What does the war between Iran and Israel have to do with us? Prices have doubled here. Goods aren't coming in like before, says a shopper, Hassan Faqawi, despairingly. In this situation, the whole world is focused on Iran, America and Israel, and Gaza is forgotten.While world attention has turned to the Iran war, there is increasing uncertainty about what happens in Gaza at a crucial stage in President Trump's 20-point peace plan, which halted the fighting in October last year. In the past week at the UN Security Council, the High Representative for Gaza on the US-led Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, laid out a detailed plan for Palestinian armed groups to decommission their weapons - linking compliance to the start of reconstruction. But a Palestinian official familiar with Hamas affairs told the BBC it was likely that Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war, would reject the proposals. That raises the prospect of a return to a full-force military offensive with Israel's prime minister demanding that Hamas disarms either the easy way or the hard way. Heavy rain in recent weeks caused sewage systems to overflow in crowded tent camps, reflecting the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Despite the promises made in Trump’s peace plan, humanitarian agencies say reconstruction materials are still being blocked from entering Gaza, raising concerns about the future for its residents amid rising tensions in the region.
