Slow genocide: Death and displacement continue in Gaza months into ceasefire Submitted by Maha Hussaini on Wed, 01/14/2026 - 12:32 Cancer patients, displaced families and children continue to die as aid, medicine and movement remain restricted by Israel A displaced Palestinian girl shields herself from the cold as she stands in front of her family's tent after it is damaged by a storm at a displacement camp in Gaza City, Palestine, on 13 January 2026 (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Reuters) Off The ceasefire has stopped most of the bombs, but not the cancer eating away at Najat Sayed al-Hessi’s body. The 61-year-old Palestinian from Gaza has been waiting for her monthly cancer medications for 27 months, without receiving a single dose. “Nothing has changed for cancer patients in Gaza since the ceasefire,” she told Middle East Eye, as the disease continues to progress unchecked. “I had an appointment to travel to Ramallah for my medication and injection on 7 October 2023, the day the war began,” she added from her makeshift tent in Deir al-Balah. “I couldn’t go that day, and I have been waiting ever since.” Since the war started, medical referrals outside Gaza have stopped, and hospitals in the war-battered enclave are unable to provide even minimal treatment for cancer patients. “I fear the disease is advancing in my body with each passing day,” al-Hessi said. Her plight reflects the wider crisis in Gaza, where nearly two million people continue to live under dire conditions three months after the ceasefire. After two years of Israeli bombardment, much of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and public health system has been destroyed. People had hoped the October ceasefire would bring some respite and a gradual path to recovery. But with continued Israeli restrictions on border crossings, aid, and goods, residents feel the situation has merely shifted from an intense genocide to a slower-paced one. For those like Al-Hessi, the pause in fighting has brought no pause in suffering. Banned medications Al-Hessi is one of 11,000 cancer patients in the Gaza Strip. Around 3,500 hold medical referrals for treatment outside the territory, but Israeli authorities have not allowed them to travel. She received a referral six months ago, but it has been ineffective due to closed borders. On a recent visit to her local clinic for back pain, she found no medications available, leaving her without relief for a slipped disc and osteoporosis. “I asked them to give me anything, at least some vitamins, but they said they had nothing for my case,” she recalled. The Palestinian health ministry told MEE that Israeli restrictions have created critical shortages across the health system. 'The last time I saw a doctor, he told me the cancer may have reached my lungs. I am dying slowly' - Najat Sayed al-Hessi, Palestinian cancer patient As of November, 56 percent of essential drugs, 68 percent of medical consumables, and 67 percent of laboratory supplies were unavailable, the ministry said. Screening services in Gaza are also nonexistent, so patients like al-Hessi cannot know how far the cancer has spread. “The last time I saw a doctor, he told me the cancer may have reached my lungs,” al-Hessi said. “I am dying slowly.” Dr Muhammad Abunada, medical director of the Gaza Cancer Centre, told MEE that there is a 70 percent shortage in cancer medications and painkillers, as Israeli authorities continue to restrict the entry of medical supplies into Gaza. “The remaining 30 percent are largely ineffective, because if a cancer patient needs three types of drugs, usually only one or two are available, while the others are missing,” Dr Abunada said. “This makes the drugs they do have largely useless, because they need to be combined with the other medications.” He added that death rates among cancer patients have doubled or even tripled since the genocide began. Before the war, one cancer patient would die per day; now, two or three die daily. “This is largely because we have no medications or treatments to offer them, while thousands urgently need medical evacuation to receive care abroad,” he said. ‘Ceasefire that kills children’ Research shows that the rise in mortality in Gaza is not limited to cancer patients but affects the entire population. The most recent data concerns newborns. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) found that the rate of newborns dying at birth increased by 75 percent during the last three months of the war. 'We are still living under the same threats and circumstances, only with less noise' - Abu Rafiq Ubeid, father of three, Gaza Between July and September, an average of 47 newborn deaths were recorded each month, almost double the monthly average of 27 in 2022, according to Unicef. Many of the factors driving this rise in mortality continue to persist, even three months into the ceasefire agreement. Although military attacks have eased, Israeli bombardments and gunfire continue to kill Palestinians almost daily, while dozens of families remain under threat of forced displacement, losing their homes to ongoing Israeli incursions and land annexation. Since the beginning of the ceasefire on 10 October, at least 449 Palestinians have been killed and 1,264 others wounded, according to the health ministry. On Tuesday, Unicef said it had documented the killing of 100 children in Gaza since October, describing the past three months as a “ceasefire that kills children”. “I’m still afraid to send my children to school. I’m not paranoid, but the bombings continue, not only in the eastern areas or neighbourhoods near the yellow line, but sometimes in the middle of Gaza City,” said Abu Rafiq Ubeid, a 34-year-old father of three. Three Palestinian children die from cold in Gaza amid Israeli blockade Read More » “We are still living under the same threats and circumstances, only with less noise. Our home was bombed during the genocide, and even after the ceasefire, we cannot reach the neighbourhood to check the damage or see if it’s still standing.” Ubeid’s home in the Shujaiya neighbourhood lies behind Israel’s newly enforced “Yellow Line”. He and his extended family now live in a school in central Gaza City. The Yellow Line, imposed unilaterally by Israeli forces since the US-brokered ceasefire in October, marks a no-go zone in Gaza. It blocks Palestinians from accessing large areas in the north, south, and east. Since the ceasefire, it has steadily expanded westward, now covering about 60 percent of the coastal enclave’s land. “Some of my relatives whose home is located a bit far from the Yellow Line were able to return after the ceasefire. But about a month ago, they fled in the middle of the night and have since joined us in this school in search of shelter,” Ubeid added. “The Yellow Line advanced towards their area, and it keeps moving slowly every couple of days.” ‘Winter is another assault’ Palestinians fear that the Yellow Line forms part of an Israeli-American plan to divide Gaza into “green” and “red” zones. According to The Guardian , the US is preparing for the long-term division of Gaza into two areas, with the eastern section remaining under Israeli and international military control, while the so-called red zone would encompass the remaining western parts of the territory. Under the reported plan, Palestinians would be forced to relocate to the "green zone", where reconstruction and relatively improved living conditions would be permitted. The “red zone”, which includes Gaza’s entire coastline, would be left largely in ruins. While reconstruction plans remain largely theoretical, Israel continues to block the entry of equipment needed to repair homes, rebuild, or at least establish adequate temporary shelters. 'Our health has deteriorated due to the suffering and prolonged starvation' - Rajaa Jendiya, Palestinian mother With around 1.5 million Palestinians still displaced and no reconstruction in sight, tens of thousands of families are now enduring a third consecutive winter in worn-out tents. “This winter season is the harshest compared to all previous ones,” Rajaa Jendiya, a widow and mother of three who has set up her tent at the same school where Ubeid is displaced, told MEE. “This is not only because the rain is heavier and the storms are stronger, but because we are drained,” she explained. “Our tents are torn after two years of continuous displacement, and our health has deteriorated due to the suffering and prolonged starvation.” Over the past two months, repeated rainstorms have battered the Strip, destroying thousands of tents. Dozens of structurally weakened buildings, damaged by earlier Israeli bombardments, have also collapsed on displaced people. At least 31 Palestinians have died from winter-related causes, including 19 children, many from hypothermia. “Every time it rains, we stay awake all night because water floods the tent,” Jendiya said. “I run from one side to the other, lifting mattresses and carrying my children.” “When you are displaced and have children, winter is not just a season,” she added. “It is another assault you have to survive.” Maintaining Gaza’s dependence In addition to restricting the entry of goods and humanitarian aid, Israel has imposed new conditions on international organisations operating in the besieged enclave, requiring extensive registration procedures and detailed staff information before permits are granted. These measures have effectively barred dozens of NGOs from working in Gaza or delivering assistance, leaving thousands of tonnes of food, medical supplies and equipment stranded outside the Strip. In Gaza, my family once lived by the land. Now survival is all that remains Read More » But the real concern, according to residents, is not just the restriction of aid but what they describe as a deliberate effort to prevent Gaza from recovering from widespread starvation or protecting itself from future shortages. After destroying or seizing at least 80 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land and crippling around 95 percent of its fishing sector, the Israeli military has routinely fired on and detained fishermen attempting to work off the coast. The measures have dismantled Gaza’s two main sources of food self-sufficiency, leaving the population almost entirely dependent on external aid. “The Israeli occupation does not want Gaza to heal or rely on its own resources for survival,” said Zakaria Bakr, head of the Fishermen’s Union Committees in Gaza. “This is why fishermen have become one of the most targeted groups in the Strip.” Gaza used to meet its own needs and even had surplus fish to export abroad, Bakr explained. Today, it relies on importing frozen fish because fishermen cannot fish freely at sea. “They simply want to keep it dependent.” Israel's genocide in Gaza Gaza City, occupied Palestine News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0