Six Months Into Gaza Ceasefire: 'Recovery Hasn't Even Begun,' Residents Say

On April 16, 2026 — marking approximately six months since the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire — NPR published a major assessment documenting the lack of meaningful recovery in Gaza despite the truce. Residents described living among rubble with no functioning infrastructure, inadequate food and medicine supplies, and no visible reconstruction progress. The report noted that international reconstruction funding remained almost entirely frozen: less than $1 billion of the $17 billion pledged to the Board of Peace had been deposited, as donor nations hesitated due to the ongoing Iran-Israel regional conflict and Hamas's refusal to accept disarmament. No international peacekeeping force had been deployed, and the Palestinian Authority had failed to establish administrative control over Gaza. Humanitarian organizations warned that without full Phase One compliance by Israel — including restoration of supply lines and return of displaced Palestinians — conditions in Gaza would continue to deteriorate despite the nominal ceasefire.