'Lesser of 2 evils': Israel's election leaves Gaza future in limbo

In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israeli airstrikes remain a regular occurrence despite a cease-fire, residents were closely following Israel’s election results, hoping that anyone but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lead the next government.

“All of their policies toward Gaza are tough, but we choose the lesser of two evils,” resident Ayman Ahmed said.

Ahmed said he hoped Netanyahu’s main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, would prevail, adding that he supported U.S. President Donald Trump’s roadmap for Gaza.

The plan calls for disarming Hamas and installing a new U.S.-backed government. It also requires Israel to withdraw its forces from the territory and allow reconstruction to begin.

Most of Gaza’s 2 million people remain displaced, living in the bombed-out ruins of their former homes or in squalid tent camps.

Netanyahu agreed to Trump’s plan but never implemented it beyond the initial stage, which involved a partial withdrawal and increased aid in exchange for the return of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, both living and dead.

The plan has been largely frozen for nearly a year.

In the rubble-strewn streets near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Mohammed Abed said a Netanyahu victory would be seen as a triumph for his agenda but that he did not expect major changes regardless of who took power.

Eisenkot, a former military chief, favors tough responses to “Israel’s enemies.”

“An Eisenkot victory will not dramatically change the situation, because their policies are almost similar,” Abed said. “In the end, it will be the same.”

Underscoring Abed’s pessimism, two strikes in Khan Younis on Wednesday killed one man and wounded at least six others, according to health officials at Nasser Hospital. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas began in October 2025, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, says women and children account for roughly half of those killed.

The Gaza genocide began following Hamas' incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza.

Hasan al-Masri, who was displaced from his home in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, said he desperately hoped the election would bring change to the territory.

“We pray to God that these elections bring a positive outcome for us,” he said. “We have been utterly devastated; nothing remains. They have killed our children, destroyed our homes, and everything we had is gone.”

The future of Gaza was barely discussed during Israel’s election campaign. The only major candidate to advocate for a two-state solution was Yair Golan, head of the small Democrats party.

Asked whether the prospect of a future Palestinian state was something Gaza residents hoped for, Ahmed said “only people outside Gaza care about these topics,” adding that their main concern was finding enough food to eat.

He said he feared a Netanyahu victory would bring more war and suffering.

“We support any effort to bring down Netanyahu,” he said.