‘Gaza’s suffering has become campaign fodder’: Palestinians fear the worst from Israel election

As Israel prepares to go to the polls, Palestinians in Gaza are bracing for an outcome that could shape their future, knowing their fate rests with the country that has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed nearly 75,000 people.

Gaza, where nearly a million displaced Palestinians face dire sanitary conditions, water shortages and the constant threat of Israeli strikes, has been largely absent from the election campaign.

Both Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition and Gadi Eisenkot's opposition Yashar party have focused instead on the goal of destroying Hamas in the wake of the 7 October attacks and the trauma inflicted on Israeli society.

Election priorities

Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has set out a clear plan for Gaza's future. Both have vowed to end Hamas rule and both support Donald Trump's controversial peace plan.

Eisenkot, the former military chief whose party is leading Netanyahu's Likud in the polls, has pledged to restore Israel's international standing after three years of war. Yet he is no dove.

A senior commander during Israel's 2006 war with Hezbollah, Eisenkot later championed the "Dahiya doctrine," which advocated overwhelming force against civilian areas where militants operated.

Palestinian despair

Earlier this week, the Arab-led Joint List party in Israel aired a 48-second election video showing drone footage of Gaza's ruins. "[We] behave as if everything that has happened here is completely normal," the voiceover says.

The party vows it "will not be silent," adding: "[The other parties] want more destruction. We offer life." Yet the chances of Arab parties joining an Eisenkot-led coalition are slim to none.

Among Palestinians in Gaza, pessimism runs deep: whoever wins, little is expected to change. "Whether it is Netanyahu, Eisenkot or someone else, attacking Gaza seems to have become part of Israeli election campaigning," said Haneen Hamdouna.

In Gaza, most people are too preoccupied by the struggle to find food and water to follow the election campaign. Fears of renewed hunger are mounting as markets run short of fresh produce and other essentials.

Residents say commercial deliveries have been suspended for about a week, driving up prices. Flour now costs more than three times its previous price, while dwindling humanitarian aid has left families increasingly vulnerable.

Hope is hard to find in Gaza, where three years of war have reduced entire neighborhoods to wastelands. More than 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed since 7 October 2023.