Security Council hears Gaza ceasefire has stalled and risk of return to war is higher than ever

The Security Council heard at its quarterly open debate on the Palestinian question that the Gaza ceasefire has stalled. Ramiz Alakbarov, Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, spoke by video from Jerusalem, according to UN News in Arabic. UN News in French, Spanish and Arabic reported that he said the risk of a return to war has never been higher. The Council's meetings coverage reported that he said a return to war must be avoided at all costs.

Alakbarov said Israeli military operations have caused some 1,500 Palestinian deaths since the ceasefire took effect, including more than 320 children and 140 women. He attributed the count to Gaza's Ministry of Health. UN News in English reported a lower figure, more than 1,400. None of the supplied documents verifies either count.

He described a visit to Gaza on 11 and 12 October. He said Palestinians living along the Yellow Line told him “the ceasefire exists in name only”. In Shuja’iyya, he said, women told him they had not experienced 40 consecutive minutes without shooting over their land in a year. He lamented “continued paralysis” in carrying out Council resolution 2803 (2025).

That resolution endorsed a United States-brokered plan for Gaza and welcomed a Board of Peace chaired by United States President Donald J. Trump. UN News in French and Spanish reported that the plan's main provisions remain unapplied. These are the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the deployment of an international stabilization force and a new Palestinian administration. The Council's meetings coverage dates the ceasefire from 8 October 2025. UN News in French and Spanish gives a different start date.

UN News in English reported that nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million people still need shelter assistance. It cited the International Organization for Migration as saying current supplies meet only about 17 per cent of needs. It also cited the UN humanitarian office, OCHA, as saying aid is held back by underfunding and Israeli restrictions, including limited access to more than 64 per cent of Gaza's land.

On the West Bank, Alakbarov said the territory is “at boiling point”. UN News in English reported more than 1,600 Israeli settler attacks this year as of mid-September, and over 4,300 Palestinians displaced. UN News in French reported that a deadline for construction bids in the E1 area east of Jerusalem threatens the territorial continuity of the West Bank.

The delegate of the United States said “Gaza cannot afford to return to scattered efforts that have failed in the past”. She called the Comprehensive Plan “the only blueprint for a stable, safe and prosperous Middle East”. She said its success depends on Hamas giving up its weapons, and that “Nothing will be taken on trust”.

Israel's representative said Hamas must disarm and that the Council has still not designated it a terrorist organization. “The ideology behind October 7 remains alive”, he said. Majed Bamya, Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, said that even after the ceasefire one Palestinian child is killed every day. He said Israel has obstructed the Board of Peace at every turn. France's representative said Israel's path of annexation and its financial strangulation of the Palestinian Authority are sources of instability. Jordan's representative condemned the E1 settlement plan.

The supplied sources do not report a vote or a Council decision at this meeting. Several of the accounts come from UN officials and UN-run news services. The UN and its agencies are themselves active in Gaza's aid operation.