A displaced persons camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza (AFP)

Palestinians in Gaza have expressed doubts about the seriousness of the plan announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday to end the war between Israel and Hamas in the coastal strip, whose residents have suffered two years of bombing and destruction.

Ibrahim Joudeh, 39, told AFP from his tent in the Al-Mawasi area south of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip, “It is clear that this plan is unrealistic. It was formulated under conditions that the United States and Israel know Hamas will never accept.”

The displaced computer programmer from Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip destroyed by an Israeli military operation that began in May, added that the plan offers no real prospect for ending the war.

“This means for us the continuation of the war and suffering. We want the war to end,” he said.

Abu Mazen Nassar, 52, a displaced person from Beit Lahia town in northern Gaza who lives in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, considered the U.S. proposal aimed only at securing the release of Israeli hostages.

“This is all manipulation… What does handing over all prisoners without official guarantees to stop the war mean? We as a people will not accept this farce, Trump and Netanyahu are lying to us,” he said.

He added, “Whatever Hamas’s decision now regarding the deal, it is too late.”

He continued, “Hamas has lost us and drowned us in the flood it created,” referring to the unprecedented attack launched by the Palestinian movement on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, called “Al-Aqsa Flood,” to which Israel responded with a devastating ongoing war.

A Glimmer of Hope

On the other hand, Anas Surour, 31, expressed hope for the war to end. “Despite all we have been through and lost in this war… I still have hope,” he said.

The man, who works as a street vendor in the Al-Mawasi area where he was displaced from Khan Younis city, added, “No war lasts forever. God willing, there will be a moment of joy that makes us forget our pain and suffering.”

But this hope is not shared by Najwa Muslim, 29, who was displaced from Gaza City to the Al-Zawayda area in central Gaza.

“I have not only lost hope in the deal, but I have lost hope in life. We are all prisoners under occupation, under fire, and under helplessness,” the young woman said.

She added with sorrow, “If there was a real intention to stop the war, they would not have waited all this time… Therefore, I do not believe any words.”

The city native, who is subjected to intense Israeli shelling, explained, “Even if a truce is agreed or the war stops this time, the return to Gaza will not be like before because Gaza has become rubble. My heart burns seeing it destroyed. They have cut off all means of life there.”

On Monday, about 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling on Gaza Strip, including 20 in Gaza City alone, according to the civil defense in the Strip.

The plan published by the White House calls for an immediate ceasefire, and that after 72 hours of Israel’s public approval, all hostages held in Gaza are to be released, followed by Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences.

It also stipulates that Gaza be disarmed and governed by a transitional committee composed of Palestinian technocrats and international experts under a board chaired by Trump, with Hamas having no role whatsoever.

In Gaza City, Mohammed Al-Beltaji, 47, said, “As usual, Israel agrees then Hamas refuses, or vice versa. It’s all a game, and we are the people paying the price.”

The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP’s count based on official Israeli figures.

The attackers also kidnapped 251 hostages taken to Gaza, where 47 remain held, including 25 whom the Israeli army says have died.

The ongoing intense Israeli military campaign on Gaza in response to the attack has killed 66,055 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, considered reliable by the United Nations.