The Iran War Is a Disaster for Gaza

"The killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei removed the last remaining Middle East actor who, however cynically, saw Gaza as core to his agenda. For years, Iran helped arm and fund Hamas, not out of absolute alignment with the movement or out of solidarity with Palestinians, but because maintaining that front gave Tehran leverage in the wider region."

"Those constraints are now gone. The Iranian leadership has been significantly degraded. The country's missile and air defense infrastructure, which underpinned its regional deterrence, has been badly damaged. And with Khamenei dead and his successor, his relatively unknown son Motjaba, taking charge amid such turmoil, Iran's political house will be consumed for the foreseeable future by an internal power struggle."

"Gaza, where two million people are already living under conditions that leave no room to absorb new pressures. The crisis is complicating an already volatile situation for a place with no functioning governance, no open borders, no powerful supporters, and a humanitarian infrastructure that was already failing before the strikes on Tehran."

The escalating US-Israeli conflict with Iran is fundamentally altering Middle Eastern dynamics, with severe implications for Gaza's two million residents. Iran's previous support for Hamas, motivated by regional leverage rather than ideological alignment, created constraints on Israeli actions. The killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and degradation of Iran's military infrastructure have eliminated this deterrent. Khamenei's successor, Motjaba, faces internal power struggles between the Revolutionary Guard Corps, clerical establishment, and civilian governance, making Gaza a low priority. Gaza's already dire humanitarian situation—lacking functional governance, open borders, powerful supporters, and adequate infrastructure—faces intensified pressure without Iran's stabilizing influence on regional actors.

Read at The Nation