Gaza Set to Hold First Local Election in Two Decades

Israel-Hamas

Cease-Fire

Hamas on Disarmament

Children Return to Gaza

Board of Peace

Israel’s Oct. 7 Failings

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

Gaza Set to Hold First Local Election in Two Decades

Hamas said it was not participating in the municipal elections in Deir al-Balah, set for this weekend. Residents said it was a long-awaited opportunity to address the city’s problems

An election poster in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, ahead of Saturday’s vote.

Gaza Set to Hold First Local Election in Two Decades

Hamas said it was not participating in the municipal elections in Deir al-Balah, set for this weekend. Residents said it was a long-awaited opportunity to address the city’s problems

An election poster in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, ahead of Saturday’s vote.

Credit...

Supported by

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Listen

· 7:12 min

Share full article

By

Adam Rasgon

Bilal Shbair

Abu Bakr Bashir

and

Iyad Abuheweila

Photographs by

Saher Alghorra

Bilal Shbair and Saher Alghorra reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza.

April 24, 2026

For 20 years, Palestinians in Gaza have endured Israeli bombardments, repeated displacement and a brutal dictatorship. Under such conditions, the holding of elections seemed a distant prospect.

Now, Palestinian officials are making preparations for municipal elections this weekend in a single Gaza city, Deir al-Balah, one of the few places where the Israeli military did not conduct a large-scale ground invasion during two years of war, though it still bears many signs of bombardment.

“My whole generation has been waiting for this opportunity,” said Abd al-Rahman al-Masri, a 27-year-old doctor who has never voted before. He said he wanted the next municipal council to find solutions to Deir al-Balah’s problems, from water and sewage to a lack of space in the cemeteries.

Roughly 70,000 people are eligible to vote in Saturday’s election, organizers said. For many, it is a long-awaited chance to have a say in how their city is run.

The election is being organized by the Palestinian Authority, which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and its involvement is notable given that it was forcibly removed from power in Gaza by Hamas in 2007. Since then, Hamas has controlled the appointment of mayors and municipal council members across the territory.

Image

A market in Deir al-Balah in October. Roughly 70,000 people are eligible to vote in the election, organizers say.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and

log into

your Times account, or

subscribe

for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?

Log in

.

Want all of The Times?

Subscribe

.

Related Content

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT