Palestinians were voting in local elections on Saturday that include Gaza for the first time in two decades and will ​gauge the political mood at a time when Israel’s government is seeking to destroy any future for a Palestinian state.

The West Bank-based ‌Palestinian Authority hopes the symbolic inclusion of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah will help reinforce its claim to authority over the war-torn territory, from where it was ousted by Hamas in 2007, Reuters reported.

Gazans, who are still struggling to meet their basic needs in the devastated enclave, welcomed the opportunity to vote.

“I’ve been hearing about elections since I was born,” said Adham ​Al-Bardini, sitting next to the family’s cooking pots outside their tent home in the city. “We are eager to take part … so we can change ​the reality imposed on us.”

ISRAEL HAS EXTENDED CONTROL OVER GAZA AND WEST BANK

Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza between Hamas ⁠and Israel took effect in October, intermittent talks led by the United States have made little progress towards a settlement that envisages international supervision of Gaza.

European ​and Arab governments broadly support an eventual return of Palestinian Authority governance in Gaza, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state comprising Gaza, East Jerusalem and ​the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule under Israeli occupation.

Western diplomats say local elections could pave the way for the first national elections in nearly two decades and help advance reforms to increase transparency and accountability that the Palestinian Authority says are already well under way.

They are the first Palestinian elections to be held since the Gaza war ​started more than two years ago with the cross-border Hamas assault on southern Israeli communities. Municipal elections were last held in the West Bank four years ​ago.

The Palestinian Authority has struggled to pay wages as Israel withholds tax revenues it collects on its behalf, raising fears of economic collapse. Israel justifies withholding the funds in ‌protest at ⁠welfare payments to prisoners and families of those killed by its forces, which it argues incentivise attacks.

The Israeli government has also taken steps to help settlers acquire West Bank land and ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said, “We will continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state.”

In Deir al-Balah, which has suffered less damage from Israel’s assault since 2023 than other Gazan cities, banners bearing candidate lists hang from buildings. Some voting will take place in tents and the process will end ​two hours early due to electricity constraints.

The ​Palestinian election committee cited widespread destruction ⁠among the reasons voting could not be held across the rest of Gaza, more than half of which is controlled by Israel with the rest under Hamas rule.

HAMAS BOYCOTTS VOTE BUT SOME CANDIDATES ARE ALIGNED

Some Palestinian factions are boycotting the ​elections in protest at the Palestinian Authority’s request that candidates back its agreements, which include recognition of the state ​of Israel.

Hamas, which has ⁠ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, has not formally nominated any candidates but one list in the Deir al-Balah election is widely viewed by residents and analysts as aligned with it.

Analysts say the performance of candidates linked to the militant group could gauge its popularity. Most candidates, including in the West Bank, are running under Fatah, ⁠the main ​political movement behind the Palestinian Authority, or as independents.

Hamas has said it would respect the results, ​and Palestinian sources told Reuters ahead of the vote that the group’s civil policemen would be deployed to safeguard polling stations in Gaza.

The Palestinian Central Elections Committee said more than one million Palestinians, ​including 70,000 in Gaza, are eligible to vote, with results expected late on Saturday or on Sunday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he has undergone successful treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, without specifying when the procedure took place.

In a social media statement released alongside his annual medical report, the 76-year-old leader said a routine checkup had revealed a small malignant tumor, which was later treated with targeted therapy. He said the treatment “removed the problem” and left no remaining trace.

The medical report said Netanyahu is otherwise in good health and confirmed he received radiation therapy for early-stage prostate cancer, though neither the report nor the prime minister provided a timeline for the treatment.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, said he delayed the release of his medical report for two months, claiming it was to prevent what he described as Iranian “false propaganda” against Israel.

He also referenced earlier misinformation circulating on social media and Iranian state media during recent tensions, which falsely claimed he had died—claims he publicly rejected by appearing in a video filmed in Jerusalem.

In recent years, Netanyahu has faced several health issues, including prostate surgery in 2024 following a urinary tract infection and the implantation of a pacemaker in 2023. Israel is expected to hold elections by October.

Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire for three weeks at a meeting at the White House brokered by President Donald Trump, ​who said he was prepared to wait for “the best deal” to end his conflict with Iran.

Fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has ‌been one of a number of sticking points to resolving the wider eight-week regional conflict, along with Iran’s nuclear ambitions and control of the crucial Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

Trump said he was in no rush to reach a peace agreement and wanted it to be “everlasting,” while continuing to assert that the U.S. had a clear upper hand in the naval stand-off in the Strait.

A day after ​Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the key shipping corridor, Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran’s “little wise-guy ships” and said he believed Tehran was ​hamstrung from making a deal because its leadership was in turmoil.

On Thursday, he said the U.S. Navy has orders to “shoot and ⁠kill” Iranian boats laying mines in the strait and the U.S. could knock out in a day any refurbishing of weapons that Iran may have made during ​a ceasefire in place since April 8.

But navigation in the passage remained effectively blocked, and the Iranian capture of two huge cargo ships was a reminder that the ​U.S. struggles to keep control of the strait and Tehran continued to cause trouble for oil markets and pose major strains to the global economy. The U.S. has maintained a blockade

IRANIAN UNITY

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday rejected Trump’s claim of disarray in the leadership describing it as “the enemy’s media operations” to maliciously undermine Iranian unity and security.

“Unity will become stronger and more solid, and ​enemies will become weaker and more humiliated,” he said in a post on X, as he remained out of the public eye since taking over from his ​father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed by U.S. strikes in the early days of the war that began on February 28.

Trump said this week he would indefinitely extend ‌what had ⁠been a two-week ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, which have yet to be scheduled.

“Don’t rush me,” he said when asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal. “I want to make the best deal … I want to have it everlasting.”

He ruled out the use of nuclear weapons, telling reporters they were unnecessary because the U.S. had “decimated” Iran with conventional arms.

“No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” Trump ​said when asked by a reporter at ​the White House.

DEADLY WEEK

Despite the extension of ⁠their ceasefire, fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces continued to pound the Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets following some of the deadliest days since their earlier deal to halt fighting on April 16.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it killed two ​armed individuals in southern Lebanon after identifying them approaching soldiers and posing what it described as an immediate threat.

Those killed ​by Israeli strikes this ⁠week included Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, according to a senior Lebanese military official and her employer, Al-Akhbar newspaper.

Hezbollah said it carried out four operations in south Lebanon on Wednesday in response to Israeli strikes. The group was not present at the ceasefire talks in Washington.

Israel has sought to make common cause with Lebanon’s government over Hezbollah, which was founded ⁠by Iran’s ​Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and which Beirut has been seeking to disarm peacefully for the past year.

Separately, ​before the announcement in Washington on Thursday, Israel warned it was ready to restart attacks on Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was waiting for a “green light” from the U.S. to resume the war, ​saying that if it did, it would begin by targeting Khamenei and “return Iran to a dark age.”