‘Cruel joke or glimmer of hope’: Recognition rings hollow for Palestinians amid Israel’s carnage

A group of countries - Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal - formally recognised the State of Palestine last month in what was hailed as a "historic step". 

Other European nations, such as France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Malta, followed suit, bringing the total number of recognitions to 159 out of 193 UN member states.

In Gaza, these recognitions are not met with celebrations, but with heavy silence. 

People in the enclave are hungry and scared, living a hard life. What leaders say about helping doesn’t match the suffering they actually face.

Recognition is often seen as a diplomatic achievement, a legal move that strengthens Palestinian legitimacy internationally. 

But in the broken neighbourhoods of Gaza, Palestinians ask: What has changed in their everyday life?

In a tent pitched on the rubble of a bombed-out house, 35-year-old Mohammed al-Aklouk says the recognitions are “meaningless”.

"These recognitions are not enough, because they have not stopped the war in Gaza,” he tells TRT World.

“Anyone who calls himself a friend of Palestine and recognises it as a state should intervene to stop the war and the killings that are taking place every day.”

The UN warns of rising displacement, severe malnutrition, and a healthcare system overwhelmed by demand, with essential supplies frequently delayed or blocked due to access restricted by Israel. 

In August, the UN declared that Gaza is facing the most severe famine conditions it has ever documented, with international aid organisations warning of widespread, catastrophic hunger across the region.

“[The recognition] did not reduce food prices, nor did it prevent the famine we’ve been enduring for the past seven months,” Mohammed says.

“It is just a symbolic gesture without value. The killing continues, and the reservoir of grief keeps flowing over us. The word 'state' means nothing to me when my child is hungry.”

For Mohammed, the real issue that must be tackled is the ongoing supply of weapons to Israel and the urgent need to impose an economic blockade on the country to help restore safety and security and end the war on Gaza.

In another tent, this one in Deir al Balah, a city in the centre of Gaza, Khalil al-Dabbous, 49, who was displaced from Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighbourhood, says the countries recognising Palestine is an important step and “a light at the end of a tunnel”.

"This recognition signals a better future for Palestine,” he tells TRT World. 

“We have nothing left to cry about - our lives, our children's education, our homes are destroyed. 

“But I hope that in the near future these recognitions will expose Israel, isolate it and besiege it internationally.”

Al-Dabbous believes the recognitions are necessary diplomatic steps that serve as tools of pressure similar to what happened in July, when Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK would recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel met specific conditions, such as agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid, and restarting efforts toward a two-state solution.

The title “State” means nothing

In Khan Younis, Asmaa al-Sheikh Ali, 33, sells mint leaves at a market to feed her two daughters.

She lost her husband and son in Israeli attacks and fled Gaza City just days ago following an evacuation order.

“The recognition of Palestine does not feel like an achievement to me; it cannot undo my loss of a husband and a son” she tells TRT World. 

“The title 'state' means nothing on the ground - everyone knows that. People are dying, children are not learning, hunger is gnawing at the bones, diseases are spreading, and killing is happening every moment. How can the world wave the word 'state' in the midst of these massacres?”

Asmaa says recognition of a Palestinian state feels like a cruel irony, a title granted only after countless lives have been lost.

And to actually take action, she calls on world powers to stop arming Israel and take concrete steps to halt the killing and displacement, “not just issue speeches or gestures that mean nothing against 'brute force”.

The stark contrast

As Mohammed weighs the recognition against his child’s hunger and finds it hollow, Khalil sees it as a faint light, a potential lever against Israeli occupation, while Asmaa rejects it entirely, believing nothing can restore what she has already lost.

Their testimonies highlight the contrast between the discussions and decisions made in the parliament chambers and the tents of Gaza. 

And while Europe and the wider world count the number of states that now recognise Palestine, Gaza residents count the dead, the hungry and the displaced.

According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Israeli forces are killing an average of 100 Palestinians in Gaza every day, not including those who are dying from starvation or lack of medical care. 

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that many are also being shot at food distribution points, turning even aid lines into zones of danger.

Since October 2023, more than 66,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, have been killed, as relentless Israeli bombardment has devastated Gaza.

For diplomats, recognition is a milestone. For the people of Gaza, however, it is either “a cruel joke or a faint glimmer of hope”.

Recognition did not stop the genocide

Although international recognition of Palestine has grown, expanding its standing in global forums and potentially pressuring reluctant states, the realities on the ground remain unchanged. 

Recognition may open the door to more precise aid mechanisms, reconstruction agreements, and more substantial legal efforts against occupation policies. 

But military dominance and the siege persist. And for Palestinians, recognition doesn’t stop Israeli tanks, open borders, or reduce the price of flour.

There is also a delay; the effects of these recognitions may take years to become clear.

Perhaps the next generation will benefit, as Khalil hopes. But for Asmaa, Mohammed, and those burying their dead right now, the wait is too much to bear.

In Gaza at night, it does not matter if the number of recognitions is 159, 156, or 147. What matters is whether the gunfire ceases, whether children can sleep peacefully, whether bread returns to tables, and whether the machinery of death is halted and silenced.

“A state means life, education, health care, peace of mind, music, travel, construction, food, and meat,” Asmaa tells TRT World. 

“None of this exists in Gaza. What good is recognition if it never becomes reality?”