NEARLY 2.1 million Palestinians are being forced to live in just 35 per cent of Gaza as Israeli attacks continue despite a ceasefire, with at least 1,454 people killed and more than 5,000 injured over the past year, according to UK-based humanitarian organisation Islamic Relief.
The organisation said Israel had expanded its control over up to 65 per cent of the territory using the so-called Yellow Line, leaving civilians increasingly confined to a shrinking area amid continued violence and severe shortages of essential supplies.
In a report published on Thursday, Islamic Relief said the death and injury toll since the ceasefire was announced in October last year amounted to at least one Palestinian casualty every 90 minutes on average.
At least 320 children were among those killed, equivalent to almost one child a day, it said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported a higher toll of 1,471 Palestinians killed and 5,189 injured since the ceasefire took effect, including four deaths and 28 injuries in the preceding 24 hours.
The ministry said the overall death toll from Israeli military attacks since October 2023 had reached at least 74,254.
Fresh violence was reported on Thursday, when Palestinian news agency Wafa said an Israeli soldier killed a Palestinian man in southeastern Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza. An air strike on a residential building in central Khan Younis also wounded several people.
Foreign news agencies reported that the violence has extended beyond Gaza. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said a 13-year-old boy was shot in the leg during an Israeli military raid in Yamoun, near Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.
An Islamic Relief aid worker in Gaza said the ceasefire had brought little relief to civilians.
“There is no ceasefire happening here in reality. They continuously target refugee camps and densely populated areas, leaving us living in constant fear,” the worker said.
The organisation accused Israel of continuing to restrict the entry of essential shelter materials, fuel and medical equipment, compounding the humanitarian crisis.
It estimated that 82 per cent of buildings in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, while more than half of healthcare facilities had been forced to close. More than 20,000 critically ill patients were also awaiting approval to leave Gaza for treatment abroad, it said.
Islamic Relief urged world leaders to increase pressure on Israel to protect civilians and uphold international law.
“A ceasefire that exists only on paper cannot be used as an excuse for the international community to stand by and do nothing,” the organisation said. - October 10, 2026
