The recent round of fighting between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia has sparked debate among Palestinians over the role of Iran and its allies in the region.
While some Palestinians supported Houthi attacks in the Red Sea during the Israeli genocidal war, others question their impact, especially as the latest round of fighting in Yemen that erupted since mid-September, and spread to Saudi airports and other civilian facilities.
On Monday, the Palestinian Authority's Presidency condemned the Houthi attacks, denouncing strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
In a press statement, it backed measures taken by the Kingdom to protect its security and facilities and warned against threats to the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina.
Hamas, meanwhile, had not issued a public comment despite repeated attempts by The New Arab to obtain its position.
Other Palestinian factions, particularly those with ties to Iran, had also not publicly stated their positions.
Palestinian factions' calculations
Mohammed Hijazi, a Jordan-based Palestinian researcher specialising in Islamist groups, told TNA that Palestinian factions maintained alliances with Iran and its regional allies, including the Houthis.
Hijazi said these ties were largely political and did not necessarily involve participation in the war or material support.
He added that the factions were reluctant to openly support the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, fearing this could damage relations with Riyadh, a key regional supporter of the Palestinian cause and an important ally of the Palestinian Authority.
He further elaborated that the factions' regional influence had diminished significantly since Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, while their political activities had done little to improve Palestinians' lives.
So, their position on Yemen, he believed, reflected political alignment with Iran and its allies, tempered by the need to avoid alienating Saudi Arabia or exposing the Palestinian cause to further political risks.
Regional rivalries and Gaza's suffering
Palestinian political analyst Akram Atallah told TNA that the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia reflect wider regional rivalries and Iran's efforts to expand its influence across the Middle East.
He argued that the Houthis' actions served Tehran's regional ambitions, while the group's ties to Hamas further complicated the political dynamics surrounding the Palestinian cause.
The increased violence has also raised questions about Washington's willingness to support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, given its broader regional interests and relations with the parties involved.
Atallah said the United States might be reluctant to side directly with Saudi Arabia against the Houthis because of its wider regional calculations and its understandings with the group.
He added that Saudi Arabia's position on normalising relations with Israel could also influence Washington's response.
Atallah noted that Israel was seeking to capitalise on regional tensions to advance its own political and strategic interests, while Riyadh appeared unwilling to make normalisation a condition for securing support against regional threats.
For some Palestinians, the confrontation has also prompted questions about whether Iran and its allies have done enough to support their cause.
Abdul Majeed Zaqout, a 42-year-old father of three from Gaza City, told TNA that his view of the Houthis had changed over time.
Initially, he regarded their Red Sea attacks as an attempt to support Palestinians and pressure Israel to end its genocidal war on Gaza.
"At first, I believed the Houthi attacks were intended to support Gaza, but I have increasingly come to see them as linked to political and regional calculations, particularly Iran's interests," Zaqout said.
"What increased my doubts was the expansion of the confrontation to include attacks on Saudi Arabia, the largest Muslim-majority country with a Sunni majority, putting civilians, including Muslim pilgrims performing Umrah, at risk," he added.
Zaqout noted that Saudi Arabia had linked normalising relations with Israel to resolving the Palestinian issue, while he believed Iran had failed to do enough to alleviate Gaza's suffering despite supporting Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"It is difficult to understand how Iran raises the slogan of supporting Palestine while the people of Gaza continue to suffer without seeing tangible results from that support," he said.
"The Israeli army destroyed our homes, and forced us to live in tents, while regional alliances and conflicts continue to be shaped by the calculations of different powers," he added.
Iran's regional influence
Zaqout's frustration is shared by other Gaza residents who argue that Iran's regional ambitions have come at the expense of ordinary people across the region.
Fadi Al-Assar, a resident of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, also condemned the Houthi attacks, accusing Iran of using its regional allies to expand its influence at the expense of Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.
"I believe Iran is using its regional allies to exert pressure on Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia," he told TNA.
Al-Assar said Tehran's support for groups involved in confrontations with Arab states had intensified regional tensions without helping to end the war on Gaza or stop Israel's attacks.
"Saudi Arabia is a pivotal state in the Arab and Islamic worlds, and I believe Iran is attempting to weaken it through its regional allies," he said.
"Meanwhile, Tehran champions hostility towards Israel, yet we have not seen its actions halt the war on Gaza or prevent its destruction. The problem is not limited to Gaza; it extends across the entire Middle East, where civilians pay the price for conflicts they had no say in initiating," he added.
While Zaqout and Al-Assar focused on the regional consequences of Iran's alliances, Rahaf Abu Hajar, a university student from Gaza's al-Maghazi refugee camp, described their impact through the disruption of her own life and future.
Abu Hajar said she opposed the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Hamas's political and military approach, criticising Iran's support for both groups.
She argued that they had devastated Palestinian families and disrupted an entire generation's education.
For her, the consequences extend beyond the destruction of homes to the loss of opportunities that young Palestinians had once taken for granted.
After graduating from high school during the war, Abu Hajar had hoped to begin university and plan for her future. Although she enrolled, she said she could attend classes only one day a week.
"I used to dream of finishing high school, going to university, and living like other young women -- studying, meeting friends, and planning my future," she said.
"But I graduated during the war, and even after enrolling, I couldn't experience university life the way I had hoped. I feel as though years of our lives and our dreams have been stolen from us," she added.
Abu Hajar held Hamas responsible for its role in bringing war to Gaza and criticised Iran's support for the movement, arguing that Palestinians should not have to bear the consequences of regional alliances.
"I do not want to remain a prisoner of war and regional conflicts. I want to learn and build my future, just like any young woman dreaming of a normal life," she said
Ultimately in Gaza, where the Israeli genocidal war has and continues to devastate lives and futures, frustration is growing over the gap between political rhetoric and tangible support from all sides.