Sunday, 16 November 2025

More than a month into the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, here is what has changed.

Extract from ABC News

A young boy sits on a crate before several boxes of fish, with a cat approaching.

A boy seen selling crates of fish during the ceasefire. (Reuters: Mahmoud Issa)

Earlier in the week, the prime minister's spokesperson told the media that any decision on their fate would be made in conjunction with the United States.

Moments later in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Mr Netanyahu appeared surprised when another politician criticised him for the remarks — seemingly distancing himself from that position.

The issue has been seen as one of the hurdles to talks on the next phase of the ceasefire beginning, and the process of Hamas laying down its weapons.

US talks are continuing

The safe passage demand was among the topics for discussion when Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made another trip to Israel this week.

He was instrumental in brokering the ceasefire deal, alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff, speaking candidly about holding direct talks with Hamas in a bid to get them to agree to the truce.

Since the truce began, there has been a cavalcade of senior US officials visiting Israel, including the vice-president, secretary of state, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Kushner and Witkoff. Many in the Israeli media have dubbed it "Bibi-sitting".

The suggestion, which Mr Netanyahu has rejected, is that the US has felt the need to supervise the Israeli leader and ensure he does not rush back to war.

The US has established a new command centre around 40 kilometres from the Gaza border to monitor the ceasefire, with a number of other countries committing to contribute staff to the mission — including Australia.

Most dead Israeli hostages have been returned

When the ceasefire first began, it set the timer ticking on a 72-hour window for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages and the release of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Twenty living Israeli hostages were freed, and almost 2,000 Palestinians in accordance with that deal.

Emotional scenes as Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners freed. (Norman Hermant, Eric Tlozek)

But the remains of dead Israeli captives have been slowly brought back as they have been uncovered amongst the rubble.

As of Friday, three of the 28 deceased hostages had yet to be returned.

Israel had accused Hamas of deliberately stalling on the repatriations, while Hamas argued the widespread devastation across Gaza made finding the bodies difficult.

Inside the West Bank city of Ramallah when 80 Palestinian prisoners were released.

The bodies of Palestinians held by Israel have also been returned in groups — 315 in total, according to the Red Cross.

While the remaining hostages remain in Gaza, there have been calls within Israel to limit aid entering the war-ravaged strip.

Aid deliveries underway, but some say more needed

The Trump peace plan said that "full humanitarian aid" would resume entering Gaza, and that more crossings into the strip would be opened.

Israel insists it is holding up its side of the bargain and allowing sufficient aid into Gaza, repeating its arguments that Hamas is hijacking aid convoys for its own purposes — something Hamas has denied.

But humanitarian organisations have repeatedly argued that the reality on the ground is very different and said there is nowhere near enough trucks being allowed over the border.

Two Palestinian women and a young boy browse a table laden with fresh vegetables.

Some markets in Gaza have reopened (this one is pictured in Nuseirat). (Reuters: Mahmoud Issa)

On Monday, Hamas said that 600 trucks carrying food and fuel should be entering each day — but far fewer had been allowed in, most days falling short of 200 trucks.

Israel is still keeping the Rafah crossing with Egypt closed to aid deliveries, but the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza has reopened.

UNICEF said vital supplies, such as refrigerators and 1 million syringes, required for a large-scale vaccination campaign, were being blocked by Israeli authorities.

COGAT, the Israeli agency that coordinates aid access to Gaza, reportedly insisted it was not blocking such items, but rather exercising caution about items that could be taken for other uses.

Some shops and markets inside Gaza have reopened, but according to the UN's World Food Programme prices are expensive.

Gazans displaced by war start returning

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded back into areas that had been under intense bombardment by Israel, once the ceasefire came into force.

But large swathes of former cities had been levelled, such as Gaza City, leaving Palestinians living in ever-growing tent camps.

Israel remains in control of more than half of the strip, with Palestinians not allowed to cross the "Yellow Line" and return to what's left of their homes.

The IDF has been placing bright yellow-coloured concrete blocks to mark the edge of its territory, hence the "Yellow Line" moniker.

But Hamas has accused Israel of trying to take more land than it should under the deal — an extra 33 square kilometres, by putting the blocks hundreds of metres inside Hamas-controlled territory.

Israeli authorities have denied that, even when confronted with reporting by organisations such as the BBC analysing satellite imagery of where the blocks have been positioned.

Where to from here?

There is still a long way to go to achieve any sort of lasting peace in Gaza, with key elements of the Trump peace plan out of reach.

The discussion around rebuilding Gaza is one of the most contentious, with fears that pledges to start clearing Israeli-controlled parts of the strip and begin reconstruction are hollow.

Palestinians walking next to a large tent city and a humanitarian aid truck covered in white sheets, with a man sitting on top

With many buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes, many Palestinians are living in tents. (AP: Jehad Alshrafi)

The demands for Hamas to lay down its weapons and hand over control of the strip have also not progressed, mainly because the international stabilisation force planned to shore up security in Gaza is still not in place.

Israel insists it will decide which countries take part in the force, already rejecting Türkiye's stated desire to play a role — even with the Erdogan government helping steer the negotiations that led to the ceasefire.

It is one of the key steps before other parts of the peace plan can be achieved, including the new technocratic administration.

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