Ayoub Abdel Ayesh Nasr, a Palestinian man, was killed on December 24 when Israeli forces opened fire on civilians in Jabalia in northern Gaza. Six others, including a child, were wounded. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and wounded a child in central Gaza's Maghazi refugee camp.

Since the start of the fragile ceasefire in October, Israel has killed more than ‌400 people in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire agreement for at least 875 times, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

Official data shows that at least 1.9 million people in the Gaza Strip, or 90 percent of the population, have been displaced.

Israeli human rights group "12 rights" described 2025 as "the deadliest and most destructive for Palestinians since 1967."

What's next for the ceasefire?

The latest ceasefire in Gaza took effect in October, after Israel and Hamas both agreed to the first phase of the 20-point peace plan brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to the UN, Israel has partly eased restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, but delivery was still limited and inconsistent.

Oxfam, a global network of NGOs, said hunger in Gaza remained at an "appalling" level, and accused Israel of blocking humanitarian groups from bringing aid into the territory.

"Oxfam alone has $2.5 million worth of aid including 4,000 food parcels, sitting in warehouses just across the border. Israeli authorities refuse it all," Nicolas Vercken, campaigns and advocacy director at Oxfam France, said in a statement in December.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to Trump in Florida, the U.S., next Monday about the next stages of the Gaza deal.

Under the October ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza in the second stage, with an interim authority taking over to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas.

It also includes a provision for Hamas to lay down its weapons – a major sticking point.

"There are more and more signs that the American administration is getting frustrated with Netanyahu," Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think tank Chatham House, told AFP.

"The question is what it's going to do about it," he added, "because phase two is right now going nowhere."

Call from the international community

Since July, a growing number of countries have recognized a Palestinian state, with more than 145 nations now joining the call for international recognition.

The UK, Canada and Australia joined France and other European countries in urging a two-state solution.

The two-state solution proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It would exist alongside Israel.

In his recent tour in the Middle East, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also doubled down on the two-state solution, expressing belief that this is the only viable path.

Earlier this month, China announced a $100 million assistance to Palestine to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support its recovery and reconstruction.

China will continue to support Palestine's primary role in post-war governance in Gaza, he said, urging the international community to assume its responsibilities, prevent the resurgence of conflict, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and bring the Palestinian issue back onto the right track.

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And yet the recognition seems to have little immediate effect on Israeli policy in the occupied territory.

In early December, Israeli authorities raided the compound of UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, in occupied East Jerusalem, taking down the UN flag and raising the Israeli flag.

The UN condemned the raid as a direct violation of international law but was directly ignored by the Israelis.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz renewed his pledge on December 25, saying that the country "will never leave" the Gaza Strip.

Katz vowed to create a broad security zone around the Palestinian enclave and allow settlement building in the territory's north.

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Supervisor: Mu Li

Producers: Li Chao, Li Zhao

Reporter: Zhao Bing

Intern editors: Wang Yiran, Ni Bing