TEL AVIV, Israel — For seven days, the people of Gaza could stand in long lines waiting for water, cooking gas and bread, without fear of an incoming airstrike. Hospitals could treat the injured without worrying about new strikes sending additional patients their way. Aid groups delivered tens of thousands of tons of aid across the territory, including in Gaza's north, where fighting had been too intense to safely distribute it.
But on Friday, a week-long ceasefire — brokered to allow the exchange of Hamas-held hostages and Israeli-held Palestinian detainees — came to an end after both sides accused the other of violating the terms of the truce. So too did aid groups' hopes of a longer-term pause to address the worsening humanitarian situation for the 2.3 million residents of Gaza, about 80% of whom are estimated to be displaced from their homes.
