On 9 October, the US peace deal proposal was agreed upon by Israel and Hamas. The agreement was set to put an end to over two years of violence.

The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages (83 were killed, 168 were returned alive to Israel). Since then, Israel’s death toll has risen to nearly 2,000 including Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers, and 100,000 displaced.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports an estimate of 67,000 people killed in Gaza, more than 169,000 injured, and 1.9 million displaced. However, Reuters reports disagreements over casualty-counting methods and whether the current figures account for deaths under rubble and from malnutrition.

The peace deal contains a 20-point plan in staged measures. It begins with an immediate ceasefire, the release and exchange of hostages and prisoners, and the restoration of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Israelis welcomed this deal with open arms, excited to finally get the hostages and the dead bodies of others returned. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Today, the Jewish calendar marks the end of two years of war.” Addressing US President Trump, he said, “Mr. President, you are committed to this peace. I am committed to this peace….Together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”

Events in Gaza in October

At the time of writing, just over a month since the ceasefire, progress has been uneven. The ceasefire has not fully stopped hostilities.

For example, on 12 October, Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi, 28, was shot dead while covering clashes in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City. Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera he was killed by members of an “armed militia” they described as linked to Israel; footage verified by Al Jazeera showed his body in a press flak jacket. Local officials reported that the incident took place amid fighting between Hamas security forces and militia fighters.

On 19 October, two Israeli soldiers were killed in Rafah, an area of Gaza where the agreement permits an Israeli presence. Israeli officials say they continue to target “dozens of terror targets and terrorists”.

Another important part of the ceasefire was the return of humanitarian aid to Gaza. In March 2025, Israel halted UN and NGO deliveries after accusing aid agencies of failing to prevent diversion of supplies.

On 12 October, 400 trucks carrying more than 9,000 tonnes of supplies – flour, bread, baby milk, tents, medical equipment and other vital materials – entered Gaza. Nevertheless, it is still not enough to solve the “crisis for generations to come”, according to Naziha El Moussaoui, food security, nutrition and livelihoods advisor at the British Red Cross. “We need a sustained flood of support – not just to save lives today, but to safeguard the future of entire communities.”

Israel claims it has upheld the ceasefire agreement, which calls for about 600 trucks of supplies to enter Gaza every day, and blames Hamas for intercepting supplies before it reaches civilians. In return, Hamas claims that Israeli restrictions are the reason why only 145 trucks per day are reaching their desired destination.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric noted that only about 5% of supplies were intercepted from 10 to 28 October compared to more than 80% between 19 May and 9 October. In August, the UN said that almost nine out of every ten UN trucks that entered Gaza in previous months were looted before reaching their final destination.

In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), backed by the United Nations, said that half a million people in Gaza were experiencing famine.

At the end of October, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that the children screened in Gaza who are acutely malnourished is 10%, down from 14% in September. Further, half of families in Gaza have experienced increased access to food, averaging two meals a day, which is one more than in July.

Reconstruction and the future

The destruction in Gaza is immense, with entire cities razed and an estimated 92% of homes and 90% of schools damaged or destroyed. The UN estimates that the damage amounts to $70bn.

As for who will pay for reconstruction, UN official at the United Nations Development Programme Jaco Chilliers said that, in addition to the discussions with the US, “We’ve heard very positive news from a number of our partners, including European partners… [and] Canada.”

With regards to Arab and Islamic nations, Brookings Institute expert Hady Amr claimed that the “United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia… are all poised to potentially fund this. Turkey, I think has a great interest in doing it, but their relations with Israel are… at a low point.”

Mona Yacoubian from the non-profit think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said: “I think that we could certainly see Gulf countries funding it, but they have signalled that they will not fund reconstruction in Gaza in the absence of a longer-term solution to the conflict. In particular, they are looking to see demonstrated progress on a path toward Palestinian statehood.”

Several proposals for how to proceed with reconstruction are on the table. One of the most detailed, the Gaza Phoenix plan, published in February 2024, was developed by about 700 Palestinian reconstruction experts and students at Birzeit University in the West Bank.

On the other hand, there is the “Gaza Riviera”, the redevelopment plan promoted in February by US president Trump and his team. And there’s the highly controversial “Great” plan, as reported by The Washington Post in September.

AI-generated images depict the territory transformed into a luxury resort and technology hub, which in theory may seem positive, but the plans omit reference to Palestinian statehood or self-determination. They also involve the temporary (at least) relocation of almost the entire population.

To put it simply, what’s next is not clear. Who exactly will fund rebuilding, and what will be the conditions under which countries will be willing to lend money? Doubtless, a ceasefire is a productive first step in the right direction, but the decisions made in the months to come are crucial for the future of Gaza.