Chinese state media coverage on February 14 relayed Palestinian accounts that Israeli forces opened fire across multiple sites in central and southern Gaza, wounding civilians including elderly people and children. The same sources reported continued demolitions and airstrikes in parts of Gaza City, east Khan Younis and Rafah, actions described by Palestinian authorities as repeated violations of a truce that came into force last October.
Gaza’s health authorities, whose tallies are routinely cited by international media, said hospitals received two fatalities and 15 wounded in the preceding 48 hours. They also reported that since the ceasefire took effect last October, 591 people in Gaza have been killed and 1,598 wounded in incidents attributed to Israeli operations.
Those recent figures sit against the much larger arithmetic of the conflict: since the outbreak of large-scale hostilities on October 7, 2023, the attacks on Gaza have, Gaza’s health services say, left 72,051 people dead and 171,706 injured. The scale of human loss has shaped international responses, humanitarian access and diplomatic efforts aimed at stabilising the enclave.
The incidents reported on February 14 underline how fragile the October truce remains. The agreement curtailed the most intense phase of fighting but did not produce a durable political settlement, and neither side has full control over escalation dynamics on the ground. Localised clashes, targeted strikes and demolitions can therefore quickly agitate the broader pause in hostilities.
Humanitarian ramifications are immediate. Gaza’s hospitals and clinics are operating under severe strain: recurrent strikes, damaged infrastructure and restricted movement impede medical care and the delivery of supplies. The repeated reports of civilian casualties, including children and the elderly, are likely to amplify international pressure on mediators and donors to shore up the ceasefire and expand relief operations.
Politically, renewed violence complicates the calculations of regional mediators — chiefly Egypt and Qatar — and major external actors such as the United States and the European Union. Each incident that punctures the truce tests the ability of those intermediaries to enforce de-escalatory terms, deliver concessions to both parties and keep reconstruction and hostage-related talks on track.
On the Israeli domestic front, security incidents feed into a polarised political debate about military objectives, proportionality and the durability of any negotiated arrangements. For Palestinian factions in Gaza, sustained raids and strikes risk eroding trust in the ceasefire and could strengthen the arguments of groups opposed to any long-term accommodation without clear political gains.
The immediate picture is one of an uneasy pause rather than a solid peace. Unless mediators can translate the ceasefire’s temporary calm into concrete steps that reduce the incentives for renewed fighting — including improved humanitarian access, clearer rules of engagement and a credible reconstruction timetable — the risk of another spiral of violence will remain high.