For the past 13 months, Ahmed Jarad has clung to the hope of returning home to Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. However, his dream has been shattered. On Wednesday, as former U.S. President Donald Trump declared victory over Kamala Harris, Jarad realized his wish to return to his war-torn village, still besieged by Israel, may never come true.
Jarad, 43, fled his home in November 2023, one month after Israel began its offensive on Gaza in response to a Hamas-led assault that left 1,139 Israelis dead and over 250 captured. Since then, relentless bombardments and ground invasions have displaced nearly all 2.3 million residents in Gaza, with over 43,000 Palestinians killed, many women and children among them. Israeli officials assert the operation’s goal is to eliminate Hamas, a group deemed a terrorist organization by much of the West. Yet, Palestinians, along with international organizations, point out that most of the casualties are civilians.
Jarad fears that with Trump’s return to the White House, conditions for Palestinians will only worsen. Recalling Trump’s past alignment with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jarad is concerned about the alliance’s impact. During Trump’s first term, the U.S. embassy was moved to Jerusalem, aid to Palestinian refugees was slashed, and policies favoring Israeli settlements increased. Trump also facilitated the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s relations with several Arab nations.
While President Joe Biden supported Israel during the recent conflict, his administration’s relationship with Netanyahu has been strained. Netanyahu, facing mounting pressure to end the war, has expressed optimism about improved U.S.-Israel relations under Trump. For Jarad and many others in Gaza, however, Trump’s return signals potential hardship. “Trump and Netanyahu are two peas in a pod,” says Zakia Hilal, a 70-year-old physician displaced from Rafah. She fears an intensified Israeli offensive and more severe policies against Palestinians.
Trump’s victory speech called for “ending wars,” yet he privately expressed concern over long-term conflicts like Gaza. While some Palestinians, like Malaka in al-Mawasi, hold faint hope that Trump’s influence could lead to a swift, albeit painful, resolution, others, including independent researcher Ahmed Fayyad, see only darker days ahead. Fayyad fears that under Trump’s strong influence, Netanyahu will pursue his agenda unchecked, posing what he calls “the worst threat yet” to the Palestinian cause.