Four Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli gunfire in Al-Sanafour, east of Gaza city, a reminder that even amid talks of limited humanitarian adjustments, lethal violence continues to stalk daily life in the Strip. The handover of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli captive held in Gaza, may unlock a tightly constrained concession. Rafah, on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, is a vital artery for humanitarian aid; its restricted operation will provide scant relief for a population enduring shortage of food, medicine and fuel.

Israel’s narrative of the next phase is blunt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Gaza’s future will centre not on reconstruction but on the “disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip.” That posture places security objectives above immediate relief and reconstruction and signals prolonged control over the terms and timing of aid flows. For Palestinians, demilitarisation discourse has often morphed into sustained restrictions on movement, trade and rebuilding, policies that entrench dependency and stoke grievances that undercut human, rights norms.