On December 22, 2025, the United Nations announced that the famine previously declared in Gaza had officially ended, citing improved humanitarian access as a crucial factor. Yet, despite this milestone, the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory remains dire, with more than 70 percent of the population still living in makeshift shelters and facing the daily threat of hunger, disease, and violence. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect in October, has brought some relief, but its fragility and frequent violations threaten to unravel progress at any moment.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition of monitors working with the UN, "no areas are classified in Famine" in Gaza as of December 22. However, the entire Gaza Strip is still deemed to be in an Emergency phase. The IPC warned, "around 1.6 million people are still forecast to face crisis levels of food insecurity in the period running to April 15." The organization also highlighted that, under a worst-case scenario involving renewed hostilities or a halt in aid, famine could return to North Gaza, Gaza Governorate, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis.
The situation on the ground is further complicated by the ongoing impact of war. Over 96 percent of Gaza’s cropland is either damaged, inaccessible, or both, and the territory’s livestock has been decimated, the IPC reported. These factors, combined with winter floods and plummeting temperatures, have increased the risk of hypothermia, especially among those living in makeshift shelters. The UN’s food, agriculture, health, and children’s agencies issued a joint statement emphasizing that "humanitarian needs remain staggering, with current assistance addressing only the most basic survival requirements." They stressed that "only access, supplies and funding at scale can prevent famine from returning."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced his deep concern, stating, "It breaks my heart to see the ongoing scale of human suffering in Gaza." He called for "more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access—including for NGOs." Guterres also urged the international community not to lose sight of the "rapidly deteriorating situation in the West Bank, where Palestinians face escalating Israeli settler violence, land seizures, demolitions and intensified movement restrictions."
The ceasefire that began in October 2025, after two years of devastating conflict triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, has been a double-edged sword. While it has allowed some humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, delivery remains "limited and uneven across the territory," according to the UN. Displaced Palestinians, such as those in the Nuseirat camp, continue to live amid the ruins of their homes, as seen in photographs taken as recently as December 19.
Despite the ceasefire, violence has not ceased entirely. On December 20, Israeli artillery shelling of a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed six Palestinians, including children, underscoring the ongoing risks faced by civilians. Gaza’s Government Media Office reported 875 ceasefire violations by Israeli forces as of December 22, resulting in 411 Palestinian deaths and 1,112 injuries since the ceasefire began. The official death toll in Gaza since October 7, 2023, stands at least at 70,937 Palestinians, with 171,192 wounded—figures that experts believe may actually be higher.
In response to these ongoing violations, a group of House Democrats sent a letter to the White House on December 22, urging President Donald Trump to "exert maximum diplomatic pressure" on Israel to comply with the ceasefire terms and end the violence. The letter, signed by Reps. Mark Pocan and Madeleine Dean along with 45 colleagues, stated, "It’s imperative that we hold the Israeli government accountable for its actions," while also calling for Hamas to be held responsible for its own violations and crackdowns within Gaza. The lawmakers expressed particular concern over the destruction of more than 1,500 buildings since the ceasefire began, including homes, neighborhoods, gardens, and orchards. They also highlighted that the ceasefire agreement calls for 600 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza, but "recent reports indicate that far fewer trucks are actually getting through."
Oxfam, an international humanitarian organization, echoed these concerns, accusing Israel of blocking aid requests from dozens of established agencies. Nicolas Vercken, Campaigns and Advocacy Director at Oxfam France, stated, "Oxfam alone has $2.5 million worth of aid including 4,000 food parcels, sitting in warehouses just across the border. Israeli authorities refuse it all." The organization emphasized that, despite the end of the famine, "the levels of hunger in Gaza remain appalling and preventable."
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has faced calls from Congress to use "whatever action needed, including leveraging US assistance, to ensure full compliance with the terms of the framework and an end to the continued acts of violence and destruction that undermine this fragile agreement and threaten the prospect of lasting peace in the region." The letter from House Democrats recognized that both Hamas and Israel have committed ceasefire violations, but argued that "the Israeli response to violations by Hamas have been severe and disproportionate, resulting in massive loss of life."
In the midst of these challenges, the US and its allies are renewing efforts to find a path toward lasting peace and recovery. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the US is considering hosting a conference on Gaza reconstruction as early as January 2026, with Washington and Egypt among the venues under discussion. The initiative is intended to "inject fresh momentum into the ceasefire after recent setbacks."
Yet, as the international community debates the logistics of reconstruction and aid, the daily reality for Palestinians in Gaza remains bleak. Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is severely limited. The IPC noted that open defecation and overcrowded living conditions are increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, and humanitarian needs are far from being fully met. For many, the end of famine is a relief, but it is not a return to normalcy.
As the world watches, the fate of Gaza hangs in the balance—caught between fragile diplomatic efforts, the threat of renewed violence, and the unrelenting struggle for survival. The coming weeks and months will test whether the tentative progress made so far can be sustained, or whether the region will once again be plunged into crisis.
