Election Hype, Same Gaza Grind

Palestinians in Gaza say they expect Israel’s election to change little about the war, the rubble, or the hunger they live with every day.

Story Snapshot

Gaza residents interviewed before and during Israel’s vote described fear, doubt, and only scattered hope.
Many said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot would follow the same basic policy toward Gaza.
Both candidates said troops would stay until Hamas gave up its weapons, with fighting able to restart.
Some displaced residents still hoped a new leader might ease the war and let them go home.

Fear of a Harsher Government

Huda al-Houli, a displaced resident of Khan Younis, told Asharq Al-Awsat on October 28 that she worries the vote “could bring an even worse leader.” She said that outcome could mean “more destruction and devastation” for Gaza. Her words reflect a theme running through interviews gathered across the territory in the days before and after Israelis cast ballots.

That fear is grounded in more than guesswork. Reuters reported on October 22 that both Netanyahu and Eisenkot said Israeli troops would not leave Gaza until Hamas disarmed, and that Israel stood ready to resume fighting if needed. For people living in tents and bombed-out neighborhoods, that message offered little comfort no matter who wins.

Deep Skepticism That Policy Will Shift

One Palestinian quoted by Asharq Al-Awsat summed up a common view: “Netanyahu may win. But whatever happens, they all follow the same overarching policy, directed against the Palestinian people”. That sentiment showed up again in video interviews gathered by the Spanish news agency EFE, where a Gaza resident said Israeli elections were an internal Israeli matter and that every major party, left or right, would bring destruction to Gaza.

Xinhua interviewed a Gaza resident identified as Nabhan, who said he wanted leaders who would allow humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Still, he made clear he was not interested in campaign talk. “We do not want political promises,” he said. “We want to see real change in our lives”. That line captures the gap many Gazans describe between election-season rhetoric and daily survival.

Flickers of Hope Amid the Doubt

The reaction was not all gloom. Al Jazeera reported from Deir el-Balah on October 26 that one resident hoped a change in Israeli leadership could bring “some easing for the Palestinian cause” and relief for people forced from their homes. Another told the outlet, “I hope someone else wins, so we can have peace of mind and feel safe, and return to our homes”.

These hopeful voices existed alongside the skeptical ones, often in the same neighborhoods. EFE’s reporting captured this split directly, with some Gaza residents hoping opposition parties might end the war while others dismissed the entire vote as irrelevant to their suffering. The range of views shows a population watching closely, even while expecting little.

Candidates’ Own Words Fuel Distrust

Neither leading candidate built a campaign around addressing Gaza’s humanitarian crisis directly, according to the reporting gathered from the territory. Instead, both focused on security terms tied to disarming Hamas, a condition that leaves open-ended how long Israeli forces might remain in Gaza. That framing helps explain why so many Gaza residents said the identity of Israel’s next prime minister mattered less than the policy both men described.

The pattern echoes how Palestinians have reacted to past Israeli elections, where short-term hope for eased restrictions often coexisted with skepticism that any new government would change the broader approach to Gaza and the West Bank. For now, the testimony gathered from Gaza reflects a population bracing for more of the same, while a smaller number hold out hope that a different name in office could still mean a different outcome for their families.