The vote in Deir al-Balah is part of Palestinian Authority municipal elections that Palestinians have cast as a display of national unity against a US plan for Gaza that they believe intends to entrench their separation from the occupied West Bank, Reuters reported.
It will be Gaza's first vote of any kind since 2006, when Hamas won the PA's legislative elections and later seized control of Gaza following a brief civil war with PA President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, dominant in the West Bank.
The polls will be the fifth municipal elections in the West Bank since 2005. In January, the PA said it would extend those elections to Gaza "wherever possible", a move analysts see as a symbolic effort to show Gaza remains part of a future Palestinian state.
In Deir al‑Balah, large banners bearing the logos of rival candidate lists decorate the streets. Voting will be held in 12 polling centers including open fields and tents.
Fareed Taamallah, spokesman for the PA Central Elections Commission, said roughly 70,000 Palestinians were eligible to vote in Deir al‑Balah, a city he said was chosen because it suffered less damage than the rest of the largely ruined territory.
Hamas has not explicitly fielded a list or endorsed any candidate, citing disagreements with Abbas over a PA decree that requires candidates to accept terms including recognition of the Israeli regime. Other factions are also boycotting the vote, meaning Fatah is expected to sweep larger city councils in the West Bank.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the group would respect the election results. Sources in the group told Reuters that it will deploy police and security forces to secure voting sites.
Hamas reasserted control of Deir al-Balah and other areas in a stretch of Gaza's coast from which Israeli forces withdrew under an October 2025 ceasefire. The Israeli regime retains control of more than 53% of Gaza.