Palestinians in Gaza have said they “are already living in hell” after Donald Trump vowed to cancel a truce if Hamas does not release all hostages this weekend, as the fragile truce teetered on the verge of collapse.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees have returned to northern parts of the besieged strip in recent weeks, camping in the rubble of their homes and still reeling from the loss of dozens of extended family members.
With the precarious deal on a knife-edge, Mr Trump said “all hell will break out” if the hostage release at the weekend did not go as planned.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed Mr Trump’s threat, saying Israel will resume “intense” fighting in Gaza if all hostages were not freed at the weekend.
“There is nothing left in Gaza but sand. Does he want to come and take the sand? The whole of Gaza is already hell; there is nothing else,” said Ali Salama, 72, from Beit Lahia, the most destroyed part of Gaza.
On Monday, Hamas said it would delay Saturday’s expected release of three Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including shelling the territory and not allowing in the agreed amount of humanitarian aid.
Israel hit back with counter-accusations of violations, adding that in response, the army had raised “the level of readiness”, cancelled leave for combat soldiers, and deployed reinforcements to the border areas with Gaza.
Pouring fuel on the fire, Mr Trump threatened to cancel the agreement if the militants did not release all their captives by midday Saturday, warning “all hell is going to break out”.
On Tuesday he hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House as he escalates pressure on the key US ally to take in refugees from Gaza, perhaps permanently.
“We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it,” Mr Trump said, insisting his plan will “bring peace” to the region.
Mr Salama told The Independent that Israel’s ferocious 15-month bombardment of Gaza had killed dozens of his extended family and destroyed at least 10 of their homes, while Israeli forces had detained and disappeared two of his sons, who he said were traders, not militants.
“If Trump wants to strike with missiles, let him strike. He wants to destroy more? I am not afraid. I actually feel like I am already dead. I have no entity left.”
Shireen Rashid, 37, who was forced to flee from Khan Younis, another destroyed city in Gaza, echoed his despair, saying, “there is no way to make more hell in Gaza”. She had lost her home, livelihood, and family members.
“All that is left for them to do is to use a nuclear bomb to kill us and annihilate us all,” she said.
