Suleiman Zarea, 66, sat on the sandy outskirts of Khan Younis when news broke of a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren, he slapped one hand against the other in frustration, mourning what he had seen as a rare glimmer of hope – a chance for a broader ceasefire that might finally reach Gaza. 

But as US President Donald Trump announced the end of hostilities between the two regional powers on Monday, the war in Gaza continued unabated and unacknowledged.

Zarea, displaced from his home 40 days earlier and now living in the makeshift sprawl of tents in al-Mawasi, draws straight lines in the sand with his walking stick, lines that, like Gaza and the ceasefire, “never meet”, he said.

"Our fate doesn’t matter to them," he said bitterly. “The war may have ended between Israel and Iran, but for us in Gaza, it’s only deepening. There are no political interests here, no human compassion for our suffering.”

Trump’s surprise announcement late Monday marked a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after a 12-day conflict that had sparked fears of a wider regional war. As much of the world breathed a sigh of relief, residents of Gaza, enduring more than a year and a half of devastating Israeli military operations, watched the diplomatic breakthrough with mixed emotions. For many, it underscored the global indifference toward their own crisis. 

“Not even a footnote”

Like many in Gaza, Zarea believed Iran, long touted as a key backer of Palestinian armed groups, would demand Gaza’s inclusion in any regional deal. That it didn’t left many feeling discarded.

For years, Hamas and other Gaza factions framed Iran as a key ally, fueling hopes that Tehran’s clash with Israel might finally put Gaza at the heart of regional diplomacy. Now those hopes have turned to ashes.

“Some of us had even started preparing mentally to go back to our homes. We allowed ourselves to dream again. We built castles in the air,” Zarea told TRT World. “ Now, we know that we have no choice. We must rely on ourselves. No one else will end this for us.”

Others echo his disillusionment. Mohammad Karkira, 47, a displaced father of four with degrees in sociology and political science, said the core misjudgment was in misplaced trust.

“The real mistake,” he said, “was expecting outside powers to save us.”

Karkira, who lost his home to Israeli strikes in December 2023, sharply criticised Gaza’s political leadership. He believes Hamas must now make “a fundamental shift” in its regional alliances if it hopes to spare what remains of the enclaves’ battered civilian population.

“People here are devastated,” he said. “This deal excluded us completely, and for many, that was the most demoralising outcome. Gaza wasn’t even a footnote.”

Many had quietly hoped the Iran-Israel confrontation would apply pressure on Israel to halt its ongoing campaign in Gaza, now entering its eighteenth brutal month. That hope, he explained, has been dashed.

“Two nuclear powers fought for less than two weeks, and the world rushed to end it,” Karkira said. “But Gaza? We’ve been under assault for a year and a half, and the world does nothing.”

He paused, his voice heavy, “Isn’t that a heartbreaking contradiction?”

Hope is naive

The conflict that prompted the ceasefire began when Israel launched air and drone strikes on Iranian nuclear and missile facilities. Mossad-coordinated strikes killed senior IRGC officials and nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated with over 150 ballistic missiles and 100 drones targeting Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba.

On June 22, the US responded with strikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in an operation dubbed “Midnight Hammer,” citing the need to support Israel and cripple Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran, in turn, retaliated with missile fire on the US Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Twelve days after it began, a ceasefire, brokered by Trump and mediated by Qatar, was announced. Scattered violations followed, but the major fighting ceased. The toll: roughly 610 Iranians and 28 Israelis killed. 

“Why did the world rush to save Iran, but leave us to die?” asked Palestinian lawyer Youssef al-Awamra.

Living with his wife and four children in a tent in al-Mawasi, after their Khan Younis home was destroyed by Israeli bombardment, he said, Palestinians in Gaza have crossed the threshold of human endurance. 

“No one can survive this, bombing, starvation, thirst, no medicine, no hospitals, no homes, and no food. We’re being driven toward Netanyahu’s ultimate goal – forced displacement or death”.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed more than 56,000 people and wounded over 131,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. More than half the dead are women and children, though the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Casualties have spiked around aid distribution sites: on June 25 alone, at least 64 people were killed, including 14 near food centres. A day earlier, Israeli strikes reportedly killed over 80, with 71 dying while seeking food at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation locations. 

Al-Awamra said he briefly hoped that the regional escalation might shift attention to Gaza. He now sees that hope as naive.  

“Nations act in their own interests,” he said. “Gaza was never more than a bargaining chip in regional rivalries. If anyone truly cared about saving us, we wouldn’t be here, living in hell.”

A fractured faith in the resistance

Political analyst Ihab Abu Zayter told TRT World that much of the despair stems from a long-standing belief, nurtured by Gaza’s political factions, that Iran would stand by Gaza in any regional showdown.  

“Gaza’s factions consistently framed Tehran as a committed backer,” Abu Zayter explained. “That narrative led many here to believe that any regional war involving Iran would also bring attention, if not relief, to Gaza.”

But he drew a sharp line between the political messaging and public sentiment.  

“Many in Gaza understand that Iran’s involvement in the conflict was never about Gaza. It was about pursuing its own interests, even at Gaza’s expense,” he said, adding that rather than constraining Israel, the Iran-Israel ceasefire has emboldened Netanyahu’s government.

Without mention of Gaza in the deal, Abu Zayter said, Israel’s far-right leadership sees no reason to slow down its military objectives. 

“That’s the pattern,” he noted. “Just like previous regional understandings involving Hezbollah, Gaza is left out.”

Crushed expectations

“The shock here is emotional,” Abu Zayter said. “People genuinely believed that the war between Iran and Israel would help force an end to Gaza’s destruction. But that didn’t happen. And now, the political leadership in Gaza is left with no leverage.”

He warned of a dangerous realisation settling across the enclave: that no external alliance will rescue Gaza. 

“There’s no longer any illusion that so-called ‘Resistance Axis’ politics will rescue Gaza,” he said. “People may have believed emotionally that Iran’s position could help them, but the political reality has shattered those hopes.”

Any path to a ceasefire, Abu Zayter insisted, now rests solely on decisions made in Jerusalem.

“It’s Israel’s extreme right-wing government that holds the keys, not Tehran, not Washington, not Doha,” he added, “and that government is more interested in finishing what it started, dismantling Gaza, neutralising the West Bank, and ending once and for all any vision of a future Palestinian state.”

Abu Zayter fears an escalation, not a resolution.

“The signs point to more aggression,” he said grimly. “Israel wants to eliminate what remains of Palestinian political life, both in Gaza and the West Bank. That’s not a ceasefire. That’s a strategy of erasure.”

This article is published in collaboration with Egab.