No one seems to be asking about the Gaza Strip anymore. The world's attention has shifted elsewhere, consumed by Israel's multiple wars.
According to the latest available figures, Gaza has lost more than half a million people through death, injury, and displacement. The enclave's population has effectively fallen from approximately 2.25 million to around 1.75 million Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israel now controls nearly three-quarters of the territory and is reportedly planning to seize additional areas.
اضافة اعلان
It is no secret that higher education has come to a standstill. Schools are not functioning, the economy has collapsed except for a shadow economy built around smuggling, and Palestinian groups accused of collaborating with Israel have emerged as a force confronting Hamas under the pretext of eliminating militants. In doing so, they are sowing the seeds of civil strife within Gaza's already tribal social fabric a society unlikely to tolerate cycles of killing and retaliation indefinitely.
No one talks about Gaza anymore. It has become a forgotten headline in news bulletins, absent from television coverage and overlooked by analysts who discuss everything their networks deem important while deliberately ignoring a territory devastated by famine and daily bloodshed. Journalists, commentators, and even official spokespeople in many countries rarely mention Gaza, despite the ongoing bombardment, the destruction of homes, and the killing of civilians.
Someone remarked to me during an evening discussion: "What difference would it make if the world remembered? Everyone witnessed a brutal war and did nothing. Why would they act now?" It is as though one is trying to draw water from salty desert sand, while Arab, Islamic, and international systems remain constrained by their own interests.
What matters now revolves around two issues.
First, the proposal to displace Palestinians from Gaza into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula remains alive. Israel, however, would only pursue such a plan if it believed that the resulting turmoil would weaken or destabilize the Egyptian state, which is already facing significant domestic challenges. Whether such displacement occurs by force or through political agreement, it would pose a serious threat to Egypt. Israel's priorities have shifted, and the Palestinian issue appears likely to return to the forefront of its agenda more intensely than in recent years. This, in turn, raises concerns regarding the future of the occupied West Bank, whose fate, too, appears to be gradually unfolding according to a broader timetable.
Second, Israel continues to carve out territory wherever it can—whether in Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon, or southern Syria. With each area it captures, it openly signals no intention of withdrawing. The internationally recognized boundaries of Israel are no longer what they once were; they are being redrawn through war, military power, and force, echoing remarks once made by a U.S. president suggesting that Israel was too small to remain within its existing borders.
Against this backdrop, even scenarios involving threats to Egypt or attempts to occupy parts of Sinai in different forms no longer seem entirely unimaginable despite the understanding that the Egyptian military is powerful and would not stand idly by in the face of such actions.
As the region becomes preoccupied with new conflicts, Israel is given greater opportunity to inflict further suffering on the people of Gaza. Yet legitimate questions remain: What is the role of the weakened Palestinian Authority? What are Arab states doing to secure Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, restore normal life, and begin reconstruction efforts, particularly when there are indications that Israel may not permit residents to rebuild even their own homes?
Gaza has faded from both the headlines and the political agenda. This distortion of priorities reflects a dangerous political reality that compels us to ask: What has become of Gaza? What happened to the second phase of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement? And where do the Arab states stand?
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of the publication.
