Where Gaza Goes from Here

"Hamas, weakened militarily and decapitated by the assassinations of its leaders, faces isolation abroad and a diminished mandate at home. The Palestinian Authority, long discredited in the West Bank, has been absent in Gaza. Leftist factions survive as symbols rather than as real organizations. Independent political figures are scattered or silenced. After two years of war, Gaza has no functioning political body with the authority or legitimacy to shape what comes next."

"Airlines around the country are experiencing flight delays and cancellations owing to the short staffing of air-traffic controllers amid the government shutdown. This group of government employees is required to keep working, without pay, during the closure. "Air-traffic control has been running very lean even before the shutdown," Matthew L. Wald, a transportation-safety reporter, told us over e-mail. "A basic principle of the air-traffic-control system"

After years of bombardment and a new ceasefire phase, Gaza's fragile political system has collapsed and institutions that structured public life lie ruined. Hamas has been militarily weakened and its leadership decimated, leaving it isolated internationally and with a diminished domestic mandate. The Palestinian Authority has been absent from Gaza, while leftist factions remain largely symbolic and independent political figures are scattered or silenced. After two years of war, no political body in Gaza holds the authority or legitimacy to direct reconstruction or governance. The ceasefire has created a power vacuum, and Palestinians who endured devastation must be empowered to determine their political and material future.

Read at The New Yorker