The people of Gaza entered 2025 facing unprecedented pressures: a tightening siege, severe shortages, creeping starvation, and widespread displacement.

Two years of brutal Israeli military violence have already blurred the line between life and death, with the suffering of Gaza impossible to ignore through a live-streamed genocide.

First stage: urban ruination

The year began with an intensification of Israeli military operations, with bombardments and ground incursions targeting not only military sites but also civilian infrastructure. Residential neighbourhoods, home to thousands, have been reduced to rubble, rendered uninhabitable. The resulting destruction saw families repeatedly displaced, largely confined to areas behind the ‘yellow line,‘ which stretches from northern Gaza, through central regions, and down to the outskirts of Rafah, next to the Gaza-Egypt border.

Second stage: exhausting society

As the military operations raged on, a new form of warfare took shape. Constant communication outages, limited access to rescue and relief teams, and the deliberate targeting of essential facilities like hospitals, schools, and shelters deepened Gaza’s suffering. Basic services were obliterated, food became increasingly scarce, and survival became a daily battle. Gaza’s residents, already reeling from the horrors of violence, now faced the systematic collapse of everything necessary for life — a collapsing infrastructure that left no corner untouched.

Third phase: systematic starvation

By mid-year, the situation plummeted to a new low. The siege tightened, with critical supplies — food, medicine, and fuel — deliberately restricted by Israel. These shortages were no longer incidental. This deliberate strategy of genocide by starvation was intended to break the will of Gaza’s people. Humanitarian aid, when it did arrive, was subjected to strict conditions and only distributed at specific, controlled points. What was once a lifeline from aid organisations became yet another tool of Israeli control, with the movement of aid trucks and people dictated by military orders. Gaza’s survival had become a political weapon.

Fourth stage: displacement and punishment

As the humanitarian crisis deepened, Israel issued evacuation orders, pushing civilians into specific areas, and threatening bombardment if they did not comply.

Many civilians resisted, choosing to stay in their communities, which led to further collective punishment, including the denial of food, shelter, and medical care.

Fifth stage: a conditional ceasefire that barely holds

By the year’s end, a fragile ceasefire was declared, halting major military operations. But despite this temporary pause in violence, Israel’s control over goods, border control, and the broader territory of Gaza remained firmly in place. The ceasefire did little to alter the balance of power, as Israel continued to dictate the terms of Gaza’s recovery. Humanitarian aid and reconstruction were increasingly tied to political demands, with Gaza’s recovery held hostage to Israel’s agenda.

Conclusion: a year of unresolved suffering

The convergence of military escalation, starvation, and displacement throughout 2025 continues to endanger Palestinian lives.

Military operations continued through Christmas, as did the blockade, while reconstruction efforts remained largely absent. These overlapping phases of Gaza’s ongoing genocide have trapped the population in a perpetual crisis, yet the hope for Gaza to rebuild and live free from Israeli violence cannot be stamped out even if the world, by its silence, allows this reality to rage on.

Featured image via Al Jazeera

By Alaa Shamali

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