Gaza grievance hardens today

United Nations officials and aid agencies said in late April and mid-May that Gaza’s war-era grievances are becoming more deeply embedded as civilians remain displaced, strikes continue and ceasefire diplomacy stalls. The U.N. assistant secretary-general for the Middle East, Khaled Khiari, told the Security Council on April 28 that the ceasefire was “increasingly fragile” and that talks on disarming Hamas and other armed groups had not produced an agreement. OCHA, the U.N. humanitarian office for the occupied Palestinian territory, said on May 15 that living conditions in Gaza remained dire and that most people were still displaced. UNRWA, the main U.N. agency serving Palestinian refugees, said its latest situation reports covered conditions through May 12. ### Why are officials saying grievance is hardening now? Khaled Khiari told the Security Council on April 28 that Gaza and the West Bank were “steadily worsening” even as regional attention shifted elsewhere. He said ongoing Israeli strikes, armed activity by Hamas and other groups, and the lack of an agreement on disarmament were raising concerns about a return to wider hostilities. (un.org) OCHA said on May 15 that many residential areas in Gaza remained unsafe because of recurrent strikes, shelling and shooting. The agency said many families were still sheltering in overcrowded tents or damaged buildings, with limited access to clean water and impaired waste management. ### What facts show how entrenched conditions have become? The U.N. told the Security Council on April 28 that about 1.8 million people in Gaza — nearly the entire population — were displaced and dependent on aid. (un.org) Khiari said food insecurity remained a challenge and that water, sanitation and health services were again close to collapse. OCHA said on May 15 that more than 43,000 people in Gaza had sustained life-changing injuries, citing World Health Organization estimates. (ochaopt.org) The same report said only one in every two aid trucks from Egypt was able to offload at Israeli-controlled crossings along Gaza’s perimeter in the first 11 days of May, based on Logistics Cluster data. UNRWA said in a report published in April that Israeli authorities had not granted the agency’s international staff visas or permits to enter the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza, since the end of January 2025, and had blocked UNRWA from directly bringing humanitarian personnel and aid into Gaza since March 2025. (un.org) (ochaopt.org) ### How are ceasefire talks tied to the mood on the ground? The April 28 Security Council briefing linked the humanitarian picture directly to the state of diplomacy. Khiari said efforts were continuing to consolidate the ceasefire and implement Phase II of the plan endorsed in U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803, but he said talks on the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups had not resulted in an agreement. (unrwa.org) That same briefing said civilians were bearing the brunt of the violence. Khiari cited Gaza’s Health Ministry as saying that about 800 Palestinians, including more than 200 children and seven humanitarian personnel, had been killed since the ceasefire began, while the Israel Defense Forces said its strikes had targeted Hamas militants and facilities. ### What are aid agencies saying about daily life inside Gaza? (un.org) The May 15 OCHA report said displaced families were still living in overcrowded shelters and exposed to health and environmental risks. It said access to basic services remained limited, with inconsistent clean water supply and waste systems unable to address public-health risks tied to pests and rodents. (un.org) An OCHA report published on May 2 said two NGO workers were killed in separate incidents in late April, triggering the suspension of health and water services. The same report said restrictions on generators, engine oil and spare parts were contributing to system failures affecting health care, sanitation, debris removal and humanitarian movement. ### What concrete milestones are next? (ochaopt.org) UNRWA said its latest Gaza emergency update covers the period from May 6 to May 12, and OCHA published a new humanitarian situation report on May 15. Those agencies’ next public updates will provide the next verified readout on displacement, aid access and service disruptions as diplomats continue work on Phase II of the ceasefire plan endorsed in Resolution 2803. (unrwa.org) (ochaopt.org)