Gaza cannot wait for a roadmap to peace

More than a month after the ceasefire came into effect, Gaza remains suspended between devastation and despair. The bombs may have stopped falling but nothing has truly stopped dying — not the health system, not the education sector, not the economy, not the social fabric, and certainly not the hope of 2 million Palestinians, who have endured a level of destruction that would break any society. Gaza is not recovering; it is barely breathing. And yet the world behaves as though time is on its side.

The truth is simple and brutal: without a comprehensive, enforceable, UN-sponsored roadmap, Gaza will not heal. It will collapse.

The suffering of Gaza’s civilians is not confined to hospital corridors — though those remain harrowing. It is woven into every aspect of daily life. Homes remain uninhabitable, water systems shattered, families displaced, schools destroyed and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. This is not a crisis that can be patched together with scattered humanitarian convoys or occasional political statements. This is a society that needs a full reconstruction plan — political, social, economic and institutional — guided by international guarantees and implemented without obstruction.

Politically, Gaza remains trapped in limbo. Palestinians have no clarity about governance, reconstruction authority or the long-term vision for their future. This vacuum is dangerous. It invites fragmentation, fuels instability and ensures that recovery is impossible. A UN roadmap must define a political horizon, backed by international consensus, that respects Palestinian rights and ensures that Gaza’s civilians never again become collateral in geopolitical bargaining. Without political clarity, every humanitarian initiative will be temporary, every reform fragile and every reconstruction effort reversible.

The humanitarian picture is equally desperate. Yes, hospitals lack medicine. But households also lack clean water, electricity, heating, sanitation and food security. Families still sleep in tents. Children navigate sewage-filled streets. Vulnerable groups — the elderly, the disabled, women and children — face unimaginable hardship. Gaza cannot rebuild its society if aid trickles in unpredictably, if fuel is rationed, if water systems remain broken or if the international community continues to make exceptions, rather than commitments.

Socially, the fabric of society has been shredded. Families are separated. Trauma is universal. Parents watch their children struggle with nightmares, fear and hunger. Communities that once relied on extended family networks and neighborhood solidarity now survive in scattered, overcrowded shelters. A roadmap must prioritize mental health support, social services, trauma rehabilitation and community rebuilding. War destroys buildings, but it also fractures hearts — and those wounds require long-term care.

The education sector, a lifeline for Gaza’s youth, is in ruins. Schools have been flattened, teachers displaced or killed, and students have lost months — in some cases years — of learning. Gaza’s children already faced enormous psychological and social pressures; now they face the possibility of losing their entire future. A roadmap must immediately restore schooling, rebuild educational infrastructure and invest in psychosocial support for students and educators. Without this, an entire generation risks being left behind — a loss not only for Gaza but for humanity.

Economically, Gaza is paralyzed. Businesses destroyed, livelihoods lost, markets disrupted and infrastructure gutted. No society can stand on international aid alone. Gaza needs a path toward self-sufficiency — the reopening of trade routes, the revival of agriculture, the rebuilding of industry and the restoration of employment. A roadmap must address the economic dimension with urgency because, without economic recovery, poverty and instability will deepen, making lasting peace impossible.

Without a comprehensive, enforceable, UN-sponsored roadmap, Gaza will not heal. It will collapse.

Hani Hazaimeh

All these crises intersect. A child who cannot attend school today will face limited opportunities tomorrow. A parent who cannot work will struggle to provide food or medicine. A community without clean water will face disease outbreaks that overwhelm hospitals. A society without political clarity will remain vulnerable to endless cycles of conflict. This is why focusing on one sector — even the crucial health sector — is insufficient. Gaza needs a full, multilayered recovery plan that addresses the totality of destruction and the totality of human need.

Most importantly, Gaza needs this plan now. Not after diplomatic committees deliberate. Not after geopolitical powers weigh strategic interests. Not after more families lose loved ones to preventable causes like hunger, disease or despair. Every day of delay adds to the death toll, the trauma, the uncertainty and the collapse. Every day without a roadmap pushes Gaza deeper into irreversible decline.

The international community must stop pretending that time will heal Gaza. Time cannot heal wounds that continue to bleed. Only action — decisive, unified and principled action — can offer Palestinians a path out of this humanitarian abyss. The ceasefire may have created a pause, but pauses are not solutions. They are opportunities. And so far, the world is wasting this one.

A UN-sponsored roadmap is not merely a bureaucratic exercise. It is the only way to restore dignity, security, stability and hope to a population that has suffered enough for several lifetimes. It must guarantee unrestricted humanitarian aid, political clarity, educational renewal, economic reconstruction and social healing — all under international protection and enforcement.

Gaza’s civilians are not asking for miracles. They are asking for life — a life where they can rebuild their homes, return to school, seek medical care, restore their livelihoods and dream without fear.

• Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh