The Gaza Strip, already battered by years of conflict, is now grappling with the dual challenges of a fragile ceasefire and devastating winter storms that have deepened the humanitarian crisis for its displaced population. As of December 11, 2025, the death toll from the Israeli war on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, has soared to 70,370, according to the Gaza health ministry, with 171,069 wounded. Despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10, 2025, violence and hardship persist, and the region remains on edge as political negotiations and natural disasters collide.
According to the AhlulBayt News Agency, the past 24 hours alone saw hospitals in Gaza receive the bodies of three civilians and five injured people. Since the ceasefire, at least 379 Palestinians have been killed, 992 wounded, and the bodies of 627 martyrs have been recovered. The staggering numbers paint a grim portrait of a population left reeling from both the immediate violence and its long-term consequences.
The latest developments come as a US-sponsored peace plan attempts to chart a path forward for Gaza’s future. On December 11, 2025, Israeli officials stated that Hamas "will be disarmed" as part of this plan, which is structured in three phases. The first phase saw Palestinian militants release all hostages except one body, while Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians. The second phase, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects to begin soon, would see Israeli troops further withdraw from Gaza and be replaced by an international stabilization force (ISF), with Hamas expected to lay down its weapons.
But the prospect of disarmament has proven contentious. Khaled Meshaal, a top Hamas leader, told Al Jazeera that while the group is open to a weapons "freeze," it rejects the demand for total disarmament put forward in former President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory. "The idea of total disarmament is unacceptable to the resistance (Hamas)," Meshaal said in the interview aired Wednesday. He elaborated: "What is being proposed is a freeze, or storage (of weapons)... to provide guarantees against any military escalation from Gaza with the Zionist occupation." Meshaal expressed hope that "with pragmatic American thinking... such a vision could be agreed upon with the US administration."
Israeli officials, however, remain adamant. As one told AFP, "There will be no future for Hamas under the 20-point plan. The terror group will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized." The fate of this plan, and of Gaza’s future governance, is expected to be a central topic when Netanyahu meets with US President Donald Trump in the United States on December 29 to discuss the next steps in the truce.
The issue of international oversight also remains fraught. Hamas has indicated it would accept international forces along Gaza’s border with Israel, similar to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), but resists any international presence inside Gaza itself. Meshaal explained, "We have no objection to international forces or international stabilization forces being deployed along the border, like UNIFIL. They would separate Gaza from the occupation. As for the presence of international forces inside Gaza, in Palestinian culture and consciousness that means an occupying force." He suggested that mediators and Arab and Islamic nations could act as "guarantors" to ensure no escalation originates from inside Gaza.
While political leaders debate the future, the people of Gaza are facing immediate and life-threatening challenges. On December 11, 2025, torrential rain swept across the Gaza Strip, flooding hundreds of tents sheltering families displaced by two years of war. The flooding led to the tragic death of eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar, who died of exposure after water inundated her family’s tent in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. Her mother, Hejar Abu Jazar, recounted to Reuters, "When we woke up, we found the rain over her and the wind on her, and the girl died of cold suddenly. There was nothing wrong with her. Oh, the fire in my heart, the fire in my heart, oh my life."
Scenes of desperation unfolded across the encampments. In Khan Younis, men used shovels to clear water and dirt blocking access to their shelters, while others hurried to prepare sandbags to protect against the relentless wind and rain. Umm Mohammed Abd Elaal, surveying her toppled tent, asked, "Look at this. How am I supposed to let the children sleep? Tell me how?" Her neighbor, Ahmed Salem, added, "There’s nothing (we can do.) The bedding gets soaked with water, and we need two or three days to dry it before we can sleep on it again. These tents don’t protect from rain or strong weather at all."
Municipal and civil defense officials said they were overwhelmed by the storm, hampered by fuel shortages and damage to equipment. According to local authorities, Israeli forces destroyed hundreds of vehicles during the war, including bulldozers and water pumps essential for responding to such emergencies. The civil defense service reported that most tent encampments were flooded and that it had received more than 2,500 calls for help in just one day. Belongings of displaced families floated atop pools of rainwater, a stark symbol of the precariousness of life for Gaza’s displaced.
The United Nations has warned that 761 displacement sites, hosting about 850,000 people, are at high risk of flooding. In anticipation of heavy rain, thousands of people have already moved, seeking higher ground or sturdier shelter—a difficult feat in a region where much of the infrastructure lies in ruins.
The intersection of political uncertainty and humanitarian disaster has left Gaza’s future hanging in the balance. While negotiators debate weapons freezes, international forces, and the mechanics of a fragile peace, ordinary Gazans are struggling to survive the aftermath of war and the onslaught of winter. The numbers—70,370 dead, 171,069 wounded, and hundreds of thousands displaced—are staggering, but they only hint at the daily realities faced by families like the Abu Jazars and the Abd Elaals.
As the world watches, the coming weeks will be decisive. The next round of talks between Netanyahu and Trump could set the stage for Gaza’s recovery or prolong its suffering. For now, the people of Gaza are left to cope with loss, uncertainty, and the relentless challenges posed by both man and nature.
