Loyalists of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won most seats in recent municipal elections, officials said, including strong results in the West Bank.

The vote was notable for including a rare symbolic election in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, the first in the territory since 2006.

Abbas’s Fatah-backed list secured the most seats there, while other local groups and independent lists also won representation.

Hamas did not formally participate and boycotted the elections in both Gaza and the West Bank, Al-Jazeera has reported.

Officials described the vote as taking place under difficult conditions amid ongoing conflict and political division.