Peace must not get bogged down in Gaza's winter mud

Show caption: A displaced Palestinian man attempts to clear water outside …

Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership

November 11, 2026

The deaths of five people, including three children, in a tent collapse in Deir Al Balah are a terrible reminder that, for Palestinians in Gaza, an ostensible ceasefire has yet to bring anything like a normal life. For hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians, the arrival of winter and associated flooding have brought additional threats to their survival and misery to their daily routines in makeshift homes. The international community cannot allow this to become another season of suffering that is met with concern but not enough action.

More than 70,000 tents have been flooded across the ruins of Gaza, with water rising to about a metre in some camps. Civil defence teams received more than 2,100 distress calls during recent storms but could respond to only 218, hampered by a lack of personnel and equipment. The shortage of heavy machinery, which Palestinian and humanitarian officials say is being kept out by Israeli restrictions, has further undermined the ability to rescue people and make damaged areas safe.

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Heavy rain worsens conditions for displaced families in Gaza

These conditions – although exacerbated by the weather – are the tangible consequences of a ceasefire that has not yet delivered basic requirements such as safety and a dignified existence. In September, Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace, warned of the dangers that another winter could bring. The events of recent days show how prescient that warning was.

There is, however, an opportunity to change course. The political uncertainty surrounding the incoming Israeli government, alongside signs that US President Donald Trump wants Israel to take further steps towards implementing his Gaza peace plan, should concentrate minds in Washington. Mr Trump helped broker the ceasefire, and the Board of Peace that oversees it bears the personal stamp of the President. Therefore, he has both the influence and responsibility to ensure that the agreement becomes more than a framework on paper.

But this is not a responsibility to be borne by the US alone. All the countries and international bodies that participated in and signed last year’s Sharm El Sheikh agreement that established the Gaza ceasefire need to be visibly working to help reduce the human suffering that is gripping the Palestinian territory. For their part, Palestinian authorities must keep speaking up for their citizens, despite the odds.

Political changes in the US and Israel offer a chance to change course

A change of government in Israel, should one materialise, could offer an opening. However, Washington should not assume that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure would automatically produce a more constructive approach towards Gaza. Any successor must be judged by what happens on the ground, whether humanitarian access improves, restrictions on essential supplies and equipment are lifted, Palestinians can move more freely and a credible programme for reconstruction begins.

There are wider consequences if a breakthrough is not found. As Mr Mladenov told the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi two months ago, if the Gaza peace plan does not move into its implementation phase, a two-state solution will become “practically impossible”. The chances for future peace must not be allowed to become bogged down in Gaza’s winter mud.

Updated:

November 11, 2026, 3:00 AM