Gazan civilians are demanding Hamas accept President Donald Trump’s proposal that would disarm the terror group in exchange for an immediate end to the war, according to the New York Times.
“Hamas must say yes to this offer—we have been through hell already,” said Mahmoud Bolbol, one of the Gazan residents interviewed by the Times. Bolbol, who lives in Gaza City with his six children, noted that his neighbors have spent the past two days talking about little besides Trump’s ceasefire proposal.
“Hamas needs to understand: Enough is enough,” Bolbol went on, accusing the terror group of dragging innocent civilians into its war against Israel.
Trump on Monday unveiled a 20-point peace plan—with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side—that starts with disarming Hamas. The plan also requires Hamas to release all remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel. Should Hamas reject the deal, Trump said, the United States will grant Israel its “full backing” to “finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas.”
While Hamas has not yet responded to Trump’s proposal, the Times reported that “interviews with Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday suggested widespread public support for the plan.”
“We are dying for nothing, and no one cares about us,” a second Gazan, Nasayem Muqat, told the Times. “Hamas needs to think more of us and what we have been through.”
Another Gazan civilian, Abdelhalim Awad, said he would accept almost “any price” to end the war but doubted that Hamas felt the same.
“They don’t care about what people think or public opinion,” Awad told the Times. “If they cared about that, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Trump’s peace plan came after Netanyahu on Friday reiterated at the U.N. General Assembly that Israel will not stop its campaign unless Hamas terrorists agree to disarm and release all hostages. “We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down the hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood,” the Israeli prime minister said.
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