Gaza on life support under Israeli control

With the agreement to end the war taking effect and the ceasefire coming into force on Friday, Oct. 10, Israeli occupation forces pulled back from cities in central Gaza. Yet they still hold more than half of the enclave’s territory during the agreement’s first phase.

Almost immediately, Hamas-affiliated security units deployed across major intersections and key roads, an initial step towards reasserting internal control. Their presence came despite repeated US and Israeli statements that the second phase of the agreement requires Hamas to surrender its weapons.

Accountability first

Hamas’ Interior Ministry promptly issued a statement calling on anyone who had broken the law but whose hands were not stained with blood to repent and turn themselves in to security authorities to regulate their legal status within a week.

At the same time, Hamas threatened armed groups accused of collaborating with the occupation against resistance members, as well as anyone who assaulted citizens or looted their property, with immediate pursuit.

As soon as the statement was released, security and resistance forces launched armed raids in several areas targeting what they described as dens of collaborators with the occupation and perpetrators of crimes across the Strip.

The operations focused on storming armed groups and families and engaging them in clashes that left deaths on both sides. Security forces regained control, arrested dozens, and transported them to interrogation centers. This was followed by the summary execution by firing squad—carried out amid crowds—of seven accused individuals, and the burning of their homes.

Hamas, which is expected to hand over its weapons and transfer the reins of governance to an international committee with Palestinian participation to administer the Strip in the coming phase, did not waste time.

Its security plans, prepared over recent weeks and months, were ready, according to a security source who asked not to be named, speaking to Al Manassa. The source indicated the movement aims to make use of the window before later phases of the agreement begin.

In doing so, Hamas signaled it had neither forgotten nor gone lenient on those it described as agents and collaborators involved in assassinations of Palestinian resistance members, or on anyone who sowed chaos and terrorized civilians—capitalizing on broad popular backing from Gazans harmed during the genocide.

While Trump initially appeared to give a green light to Hamas to restore security in the Strip, he warned it on Oct. 16, saying, “We will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” if internal bloodshed persists in Gaza. Some armed groups are reported to have been supplied by, and cooperated with, the occupation.

Relief efforts

In parallel, Hamas mobilized all its ministries, notably Health, Social Development, and National Economy, to resume field work in their respective portfolios.

The Ministry of Social Development urged local and international NGOs and even volunteers working in relief to distribute humanitarian aid fairly so it reaches everyone across the Strip.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel allowed in dozens of aid trucks for several international organizations after months of suspension.

Food parcels, flour, tents, and other items arrived. For the first time, some commercial goods were also allowed in, including frozen poultry, cooking gas, and motor oil, with the Economy Ministry overseeing their distribution and price reductions.

Even so, chicken remains out of reach, priced higher than before the war. According to Bassam Fakhri, 37, who spoke to Al Manassa, a single chicken now costs 120 shekels (about $35)—a price most Gazans cannot afford.

Fakhri noted that cooking gas supplies remain scarce “Everyone needs gas, and no one has eaten chicken or meat for months. We need larger quantities and prices brought back to normal,” he said.

Health system on the brink

The health sector has endured more than 788 Israeli attacks, which destroyed or rendered inoperable 38 hospitals and clinics, along with the destruction of dozens of ambulances and the killing of at least 1,670 medical personnel over two years of genocide.

The Health Ministry continues to provide care at well below minimum capacity amid a lack of electricity, essential medical equipment, adequate facilities, supplies, medicines, and vaccines. The occupation still allows in only small quantities that do not meet the need.

With hospitals and medical facilities facing collapse and severe shortages, more than 170,000 people wounded in the war, along with patients suffering from chronic illnesses such as cancer and kidney failure, now require specialized treatment and surgeries at hospitals outside Gaza that can provide such care.

As a result, the fate of thousands of wounded Palestinians hinges on Israel’s approval for medical evacuation. Hundreds are living with amputations, paralysis, or permanent loss of vision. At the same time, Gaza’s health sector urgently needs equipment and supplies to restore even partial capacity.

No schools, no teachers

In education, after 670 schools and 165 universities and educational institutions were destroyed, and with more than 800 teachers killed during the genocide, most Gaza students remain without schools or education for the third consecutive year.

Education is limited to a small number of students through online schools run by the Education Ministry in the West Bank and simple makeshift classes set up by UNRWA—options that many students cannot access.

Online learning requires a mobile phone, electricity for charging, and a solid internet connection for students to follow lessons, Kazem Al-Sayed, 42, told Al Manassa. “Only the lucky few have some of these basics. Most of our children are left without schooling,” he said.

A source at an international organization, who asked not to be named, told Al Manassa that the group has a plan to restart schooling in Gaza by bringing in thousands of caravans as temporary replacements for school buildings. “That will take time,” the source said. “We are still at the start of the recovery phase and are working to speed up the entry of what’s needed to launch the process as soon as possible.”

A people of tents

Two years of war and genocide have devastated every essential service, facility, and even homes that once sheltered Gazans. More than 300,000 housing units have been completely destroyed, and more than 200,000 have been partially destroyed.

That means Gazans face years of living in tents while rubble is cleared and reconstruction gets underway—rebuilding and upgrading what the war destroyed with international funding and UN oversight. UN bodies have already begun drafting implementation plans.

Occupation still entrenched

While developments on the ground may open the way for a return to daily life, the current recovery phase across Gaza’s sectors faces enormous obstacles. The exchange of prisoners and remains between Hamas and the occupation must be completed, and Hamas must hand over governance in a way that enables the joint international-Palestinian committee to begin its work.

The greatest barrier remains Israel’s tight control over all crossings and Gaza’s gateways to the world— as well as over the quantities of food, medical aid, and logistical supplies entering the Strip. It dictates how many debris-removal vehicles can enter, and determines the amount of construction material allowed in.

In practice, the occupation maintains control over more than half of Gaza’s 365 square kilometers. It also decides access to electricity, water, and movement — determining who may enter or leave, even patients needing urgent care unavailable inside Gaza.

Also, and despite the declared ceasefire, Israeli military operations have continued across several areas of the Gaza Strip. In the days following the agreement, airstrikes and ground incursions killed dozens of Palestinians. Many of those killed were displaced civilians inspecting the ruins of their homes or gathering near aid distribution points. 

In short, any effort to restore life in Gaza to what it was before Oct. 7 remains subject to Israeli decisions — not only on security, but on the most basic needs of food, water, and survival for years to come.