Israel is threatening to resume the genocide in Gaza. The world isn’t paying attention.
Israeli military vehicles on the way to Gaza, 17 May 2025
Qassam Muaddi writes in Mondoweiss on 24 April 2026:
For decades, Gaza was relegated to the margins of world attention. Then, October 7 happened, a genocide followed, and Gaza moved the entire world, setting off a chain of events that now threatens the place of America in the Middle East and demonstrates the limits of U.S. power. But tragically, the events Gaza set in motion have now overshadowed it. Since the so-called ceasefire in October 2025, the world has “moved on” from Gaza.
But Israel has not, and it’s planning on returning to war.
When the U.S. entered into a ceasefire with Iran — much to the chagrin of the entire spectrum of Israeli politics — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel will now “focus on Hamas,” suggesting a return to the war in Gaza.
The suggestions turned explicit when Israel’s Channel 14 reported last weekend that Israeli forces were preparing to resume war in Gaza “as early as next month.” According to the report that aired on the channel’s live broadcast, Israel is considering resuming its operations in Gaza after the refusal of Hamas and other Palestinian factions to disarm.
The refusal of disarmament came on the heels of a series of meetings in mid-April between representatives of Palestinian factions and Nickolay Mladenov, the “High Representative for Gaza” in Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, who demanded that the factions accept a U.S. plan for disarmament.
But why is Israel insisting on resuming the genocide now, as the war with Iran might resume following Trump’s blockade of Iranian ships in the Straits of Hormuz? Here is how Iran and Gaza are connected.
Making up for Israel’s failure
The fact that the Gaza ceasefire has moved out of U.S. and international priorities is, of course, due in large part to the war in Iran. But the connection is even more direct, because the war on Iran was meant to be the final move to remove all opposition to Israel’s dominance in the region. The outcome of the war could determine the way in which Israel would deal with other portfolios in the region, starting with Gaza itself.
The removal of Iranian opposition to the U.S. and Israeli agenda in the region would strip Hezbollah and Hamas of their backing, leaving them hollowed out and contained. With them out of the way, Israel would be free to pursue its most maximalist ambitions, discarding any agreements or deals that stood in its path.