More than six months after a US-brokered ceasefire was established in Gaza in October 2025, the fragile truce is on the verge of complete collapse. In April 2026, with the US-Iran War diverting global and American diplomatic attention, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached catastrophic proportions. Israeli strikes continue almost daily, Hamas has flatly rejected disarmament demands central to the second phase of the peace plan, and the Palestinian civilian population remains trapped in a cycle of violence, displacement, and starvation. The world’s most watched and most contentious conflict shows no signs of resolution.
The Gaza Ceasefire: Background and Timeline
The Gaza conflict began with the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and the taking of around 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, which aimed to destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, resulted in the deaths of over 72,000 Palestinians and injuries to at least 172,000 others, according to Palestinian health authorities, while reducing significant portions of the Gaza Strip to rubble.
After years of intense international pressure, a US and Qatar-mediated ceasefire was finally established in October 2025. The ceasefire, endorsed by the UN Security Council through resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025, established what became known as the ‘Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.’ The first phase of this plan established the ceasefire, secured the return of remaining hostages held by Hamas, called for a partial Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, and mandated increased humanitarian aid flows into the territory.
However, even from its inception, the ceasefire was plagued by violations and competing interpretations. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) documented 139 ceasefire violations by Palestinian militant groups between October 2025 and April 2026. Palestinian health authorities, meanwhile, documented the deaths of more than 705 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into effect — killed in Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and gunfire that continued across Gaza despite the supposed truce.
Hamas Rejects Disarmament: The Core Stumbling Block
The most significant obstacle to the second phase of the Trump peace plan is Hamas’s categorical refusal to disarm. The second phase of the Comprehensive Plan requires Hamas to dismantle its tunnel network, relinquish its weapons in stages over eight months, and allow for ‘final verification that Gaza is free of weapons’ before Israel would complete a full military withdrawal. This demand, central to the entire peace framework, has been firmly rejected by Hamas.
On April 5, 2026, Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, through its spokesperson, issued a firm statement declaring that it would not discuss disarmament until Israel fully implemented all obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. Hamas characterized the disarmament demand as ‘an attempt to continue the war on Gaza’ and ‘an attempt to continue the genocide.’ The statement sent diplomatic shockwaves through the negotiations, with analysts describing Phase Two talks as effectively deadlocked.
Hamas sources have communicated to mediators Qatar, Egypt, and the United States that they will not entertain any discussion of disarmament unless there are binding guarantees that Israel will completely and permanently withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Israel has consistently refused to provide such guarantees, insisting that any Israeli withdrawal must be conditional on verified demilitarization. This fundamental disagreement between the two parties has made the second phase of the peace plan effectively impossible to implement in the current environment.
The Iran War Factor: How the US-Iran Conflict Worsened Gaza’s Crisis
The situation in Gaza dramatically deteriorated following the launch of the US-Israel joint military offensive against Iran on February 28, 2026. With the United States now directly involved in a major war against Iran, American diplomatic bandwidth for Gaza peace mediation has been severely reduced. The Trump administration, which had invested significant political capital in the Gaza peace framework, is now primarily focused on the strategic objectives of the Iran War.
The Iran conflict directly worsened Gaza’s humanitarian situation in several ways. First, Israel closed all Gaza border crossings, including the critical Rafah crossing, following the outbreak of regional hostilities. This blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid for several weeks, creating a severe food and medical supply crisis for the estimated 1.9 million Palestinians still in Gaza. While the Kerem Shalom crossing was partially reopened on March 2 and the Rafah crossing began limited pedestrian access on March 15, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of a ‘major bottleneck’ and declining stocks in partner warehouses.
The disruption to global supply chains caused by the Iran War, including the threat to Strait of Hormuz shipping, further exacerbated Gaza’s humanitarian situation by increasing the cost and difficulty of aid procurement and delivery. International aid organizations operating in Gaza have warned that the combination of continued Israeli strikes, border restrictions, and the indirect effects of the Iran conflict are creating conditions that could constitute a ‘second phase of famine’ in the territory.
What Comes Next: The Path to Peace or Renewed War?
The UN’s special envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, presented a new plan to the UN Security Council in late March 2026 that attempts to break the deadlock. The plan calls for Hamas to dismantle its tunnel network and relinquish weapons in stages over eight months, with full Israeli withdrawal contingent on verified demilitarization. However, both Hamas and some Palestinian factions have already signaled their rejection of key elements of this plan, while Israel has not committed to the full withdrawal timeline.
The Security Council’s monthly debate on the Palestinian question in April 2026 is expected to produce sharp exchanges between Western nations and Russia and China, who have consistently pushed for more forceful UN action to end the conflict. The Arab League nations, particularly Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, continue to press for implementation of the Phase One commitments as a prerequisite for any discussion of Phase Two, which aligns with Hamas’s stated position.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the violence continues. On April 6, 2026, an Israeli drone fired two missiles at a group of civilians in Gaza City, killing four people, according to Palestinian health officials. On the same day, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people near a school housing displaced Palestinians. The UN, international human rights organizations, and increasingly, US allies in Europe are calling for a binding ceasefire and accountability for violations by all parties.
For the Palestinian people of Gaza, after more than two and a half years of devastating conflict, the ceasefire’s slow collapse represents yet another catastrophic failure of the international community to protect civilian lives. With over 72,000 killed, hundreds of thousands injured, and an entire territory reduced to ruins, the Gaza crisis remains the most urgent and unresolved humanitarian emergency in the world — one that demands immediate and sustained global attention.