Gaza's Ceasefire Is Holding, but People Are Still Dying and Peace Talks Are Stuck
Israeli attacks killed at least one Palestinian in Gaza on August 10, 2026, while recovery crews pulled another body from beneath the rubble of a destroyed building. Hospitals confirmed receiving the remains of two people killed in Israeli strikes. Al Jazeera
These deaths happened despite a ceasefire, an agreement to stop fighting, that has been in place since October 2025. Since the ceasefire began, the Gaza Health Ministry has recorded 1,258 people killed by Israeli fire, 4,139 wounded, and 807 bodies recovered from rubble of destroyed buildings. Since the war started in October 2023, the total toll stands at 73,386 dead and 174,250 wounded, according to the same ministry.
The August 10 deaths followed a violent August 9 across central and southern Gaza. Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian east of Deir el-Balah, per the Qatar News Agency quoting medical sources. At least five people, including children, were wounded in Israeli attacks in Khan Younis and Rafah. An Israeli tank opened fire on tents sheltering displaced people in Khan Younis, wounding several, including a critically injured woman. In the al-Mawasi coastal area of Rafah, a girl was seriously wounded by Israeli army fire. Israeli artillery shelled areas east of Khan Younis, and further Israeli fire wounded several people in the al-Mahatta area of Gaza City's Tuffah neighbourhood. Al Jazeera
The violence persisted even as Israel has scaled back attacks since the week of August 9, following the ceasefire and the rollout of a US plan for the territory. Reuters
Meanwhile, peace talks have hit a wall. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on August 10 that Israel rejects US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza and that Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is genuinely disarmed. The US-led Board of Peace, a group of countries overseeing the ceasefire, took a similar position last week, stating that an Israeli withdrawal would proceed only once Hamas's disarmament is complete. Al Jazeera
Netanyahu went further on August 9, declaring that as long as he is prime minister, no Palestinian state will be established, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. CNN
The broader context here is that a ceasefire is like pressing pause on a conflict, but it does not resolve the arguments that caused the fighting in the first place. Netanyahu's rejection of the Trump plan and his ruling out of a Palestinian state mean the ceasefire has no clear destination. The Board of Peace agreeing with Israel's demand that Hamas must disarm first makes mediation even harder. All the major outside parties now say Israel should only withdraw if Hamas gives up its weapons, while Hamas has not said it will do so. The result is a ceasefire that reduces violence but leaves the big questions (who governs Gaza, whether Palestinians get their own state, and what happens to armed groups like Hamas) completely unresolved.
The recovery of bodies from rubble continues to be a defining part of the conflict's aftermath. On August 8, crews recovered 19 bodies, most of them women and children, from beneath a destroyed residential building in Gaza City. A mass funeral was held in Gaza City on August 5 for 112 people whose remains were recovered from buildings destroyed during the war. In May, a recovery crew unearthed 50 bodies from rubble at the site of one of the war's deadliest Israeli attacks. Israel has also destroyed a cemetery in Gaza to retrieve the remains of its last captive and was reported in February to be holding over 700 Palestinian bodies. Al Jazeera; Los Angeles Times; NPR; AJ+
These figures and the pace of recovery suggest the full human cost of the war is still being counted. The 807 bodies recovered since the ceasefire alone show that destruction from the fighting continues to claim lives even after the guns have largely gone quiet.
In my view, the gap between the ceasefire's reduction of violence and its political goals, or lack of them, is likely to keep two things running side by side for the foreseeable future: ongoing low-level violence on the ground and diplomatic deadlock at the negotiating table.
