For once, residents of Gaza are seeing missiles streaking across the sky that are not aimed at them. As Israel launches strikes on Iran and Tehran responds with barrages of missiles, Palestinians in Gaza are closely monitoring the unfolding war with a sense of surrealism.
The sky over Gaza lights up at night as the Iranian missiles soar above the tents of the displaced. Crowds flooded the streets in joy, as if these missiles carried the end of their tragedy. They hold up their phones, trying to capture the moment. Some whistle, and for a brief moment, they forget the weight of the war.
Despite being consumed by daily hardships — from ongoing bombardment and mass casualties at aid sites, to continuing food shortages and widespread hunger — the escalation between Iran and Israel has ignited a debate among Gazans that reflects a deep divide over Iran’s role in the region.
Many in Gaza support Iran, viewing it as the only power bold enough to challenge Israel militarily. But others see Iran as a key contributor to Gaza’s devastation, given that it funded and armed the resistance factions in Gaza but failed to meaningfully intervene when it mattered most.
“Iran has always supported Hamas, both publicly and behind the scenes,” says Ayman Rahmi, a resident of Gaza City. “They provided rockets and technical know-how, and Hamas would always acknowledge this after each war. But where was Iran when Gaza was being destroyed? Why didn’t it strike Tel Aviv earlier to enforce a balance of destruction? If it had, Gaza might not have been obliterated, and its people wouldn’t be scattered in refugee camps.”
Rahmi believes Iran’s involvement in Gaza has always served its geopolitical interests rather than the Palestinian cause. “Palestinians are not waiting for Iran or any other country to liberate them. If Iran has missiles that can cause massive damage to Israel, why doesn’t it use them decisively? Its recent attacks seem more symbolic than strategic.”
The perception that Iran is hesitant to confront Israel directly — or fears a broader conflict with the United States — is growing among some Palestinians. “They want to send a message but not pay the price,” Rahmi explains.
Public opinion in Gaza is shaped by what people see on the ground. Yet key elements, including regional power dynamics, political calculations, and the timing of military responses, remain largely hidden from the public eye. Still, many Palestinians draw conclusions based on their own experiences and project their hopes or frustrations onto the unfolding events.
During the first days of the Israeli strikes on Iran, Gaza experienced a noticeable, albeit temporary, decline in the intensity of Israeli attacks, but by the third day, Israeli military operations in the Strip resumed with full force. According to local sources, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the past three days alone.
‘Israel can be defeated’ — if the West doesn’t intervene
Despite the ongoing suffering, some Gazans continue to look toward the Iran-Israel war with cautious optimism, believing it may signal a slight shift in the regional equation.
“Has Israel ever seen destruction like this before?” asks Omar Ubaid, a displaced resident sheltering in western Gaza. “Iran is not a militia — it’s a state with an army and weapons. If it wants, it can do real damage.”
For now, Gaza watches — under siege and constant bombardment, but with no shortage of opinions. For some in Gaza, the damage inflicted on Israel by Hamas and Hezbollah has revealed what they see as the fragility of the Israeli state.
“Look at the damage caused by Hamas and Hezbollah alone. And these are just Iran’s arms. Israel doesn’t truly know what it’s up against, and it won’t easily escape this war, unless the U.S. gets involved and declares war on Iran,” says Ubaid.
Ubaid expresses hope that Israel can be defeated — but only if the conflict remains a confrontation between Iran and Israel, without Western intervention. “Even with its air superiority and continuous American military support, Israel can still be defeated by Iran’s missile arsenal. They can destroy it,” he claims.
He argues that the assassination of Iranian military leaders does not equate to Iran’s collapse. “Hamas, too, has lost its top leaders in Gaza to Israeli strikes, yet those assassinations never broke the movement. On the contrary, they fueled its determination to continue,” Ubaid explains.
“We hope Iran gives Israel a painful lesson — one that forces it to end the war on Gaza and bring an end to our suffering,” he added.
Yet not all voices in Gaza share the same optimism. A growing number of Palestinians are questioning Iran’s role and credibility. Some argue that Iran’s strategy has long been to fight Israel through its proxies — Palestinians, Lebanese, and Yemenis — without directly engaging in the conflict itself.
“We must face the truth without sugarcoating it,” says Mahmoud Qanou, a displaced resident from central Gaza. “We need to ask hard questions to understand what’s happening. The events have shown that Iran is a paper tiger — a state infiltrated from within.”
Qanou points to the first days of Israel’s opening attacks in Iran, assassinating top Iranian commanders in rapid succession. “Israel eliminated Iran’s top commanders in one night. When new ones were appointed, they were assassinated the very next day. How can a country with compromised security defeat a state with vast intelligence capabilities?”
He continues, “Israel knows exactly where Iran’s leaders sleep — it targets their rooms, even when they are with their families. Meanwhile, Iran has not managed a single meaningful intelligence operation against Israel.”
Qanou criticizes what he sees as the misplaced priorities of regimes in the Global South. “Many of these regimes are too busy suppressing their people to prepare for external threats,” he says. “While Iran was focused on arresting dissenters and silencing voices on social media, Israel was planting spies on its soil.”
“And now we see the result: Israel is dismantling Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and assassinating its leadership,” he added.
(‘Demanding “unconditional surrender,” Trump plots assault on Iran’, WSWS 18 June 2025)
I hate to say it, but I’m glad Iran hit an Israeli hospital. And I’m told there were military tunnels underneath it.
Golly gee, I guess we know now where Israel got the idea that there were military tunnels under Gazan hospitals. I think there’s a technical term for that in psychology: projection.