For the past thirteen months, Ahmed Jarad lived with the vague hope that one day he would be able to return to his home in Beit Lahiya, a village in the north of the Gaza Strip.

But on Wednesday, as former US President Donald Trump announced his triumphant return to the White House after a close race against Vice President Kamala Harris, Jarad expressed his dream of returning to his hometown, which is currently being crushed by Israel and the stranded population cut off from the south, crushed.

The 43-year-old left his home exactly a year ago – in November 2023 – and fled to al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. A month earlier, Israel launched its war on Gaza after Hamas, the political and military group that rules the Strip, led an attack on army posts and villages in southern Israel, killing 1,139 people and capturing more than 250.

Since then, Israel has subjected Gaza to near-merciless bombings and ground invasions. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed – with thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble – while almost the entire 2.3 million residents of the enclave have been displaced.

Israeli officials claim the war is necessary to eliminate Hamas, which has been categorized as a “terrorist group” by most Western countries. But Palestinians, the United Nations and human rights defenders point to the fact that most of the war’s victims are women and children.

Jarad said he is confident that Israel’s brutality will only worsen once Trump, who enjoyed a close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first presidency, is sworn in again as leader of the world’s strongest superpower.

“Trump and Netanyahu are an evil alliance against the Palestinians and our fate will be very difficult, not only in the fateful issues but also in our daily concerns,” Jarad told Al Jazeera from his tattered tent in al-Mawasi, where he lives now. with his wife and their five children.

Netanyahu, who is under pressure both domestically and internationally to end the war that has spilled over into Lebanon and threatens to escalate into a full-scale conflict between Israel and Iran, was quick to congratulate Trump after claiming his victory on Wednesday.

Netanyahu called Trump’s election “the greatest comeback in history” and described Trump’s return as a “new start for America” ​​and a “strong renewed commitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”

During Trump’s first four-year term as president from 2016 to 2020, the US embassy in Israel was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – a significant step in the eyes of the Israeli government. Aid to the Palestinians was cut, especially to UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee aid agency, which Israel declared a terrorist group just days before the US elections.

The Trump administration also ignored the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, despite international condemnation, and brokered the “Abraham Accords,” through which several Arab countries normalized ties with Israel.

Since the start of the war on Gaza last October, Democratic President Joe Biden has been steadfast in his support for Israel. He has continued to send military aid and reaffirmed Israel’s “right to protect itself.”

But relations between Netanyahu and Biden have deteriorated somewhat due to worsening regional tensions and the failure to reach a ceasefire agreement negotiated by the Americans. Netanyahu now says a Trump presidency could mark a new leaf in Israeli-American relations.

Like many Palestinians, especially those stuck in Gaza, Jarad says he fears this will come at their expense.

“This is a sad day for the Palestinians,” he said desperately. “Trump will support Netanyahu’s free hand on the possibility of the return of settlements to the Gaza Strip and even the relocation of large numbers of Palestinians outside of it.”

“We hoped to return to the north, but now all our hopes are gone,” he said.

Trump and Netanyahu: ‘Peas in a pod’

Zakia Hilal, a 70-year-old doctor, has resorted to humor to cope with the ravages of the war on Gaza. She listened to news about the US elections on the radio with her husband, children and grandchildren – all together in their tent in al-Mawasi.

As soon as they heard the news that Trump had won, they shouted, “Two peas in a pod,” referring to Netanyahu and Trump. “Our situation wasn’t bad enough? Trump had to come and finish it,” she said sarcastically.

Hilal, who is originally from Rafah in southern Gaza, was forced to leave her home in May when Israeli forces launched a ground operation on May 6 in the southernmost part of the enclave, where most of the population had sought shelter.

Since then, the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, the main gateway through which humanitarian aid normally flows, has been closed. Humanitarian aid reaching the besieged enclave through other smaller border crossings has fallen to its lowest level since the start of the war.

“We are certainly entering a very difficult period. What awaits us could be even worse than what we have experienced so far,” Hilal told Al Jazeera. “It is true that US administrations do not differ in their support for Israel, but some are stricter and more intense than others, such as Trump.”

In his victory speech in Florida, Trump said he is “going to stop wars,” something many Arab Americans criticized the Biden administration for failing to do. According to reports from The Times of Israel, Trump has expressed concern about the possibility of a prolonged conflict in Gaza. In July, he reportedly told Netanyahu at a meeting that the dispute should ideally be resolved by the time he comes to power in January 2025.

“I told Bibi (Netanyahu), we don’t want endless wars, especially the ones that involve America,” Trump said, referring to the private conversation. How he plans to put an end to this is unclear and fills the Palestinians who spoke to Al Jazeera on Wednesday with fear.

Jehad Malaka, an international relations researcher at the Gaza-based research organization the Palestinian Planning Center, does not expect Trump’s incoming administration to be much different from Biden’s in terms of support for Israel.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from the tent he shares with his family in al-Mawasi, where they fled northern Gaza, Malaka said the Biden administration has done nothing for the Palestinians during the war, nor has it of the decisions made during Trump’s first presidential election. presidency.

“Trump is using rough tools, and Biden and the Democrats are resorting to soft tools, but the politics are the same,” he said.

He added: “Biden has not made any decision in favor of the Palestinians and has been unable to reach a ceasefire. He did not change the reality of his predecessor Trump’s decisions at all. The positions of the two governments towards Israel are the same and identical, and they place their interests above all other considerations.”

However, Malaka said he does not believe Trump would approve the forced removal of Palestinians from Gaza from the entire enclave and hopes the new president may be able to bring a quicker, if extremely painful, end to the war.

“Given Trump’s pressure and influence over Netanyahu, he may be able to open a horizon for a partial solution to the Palestinian issue, and is able to pressure Netanyahu, while Biden failed to apply pressure in one day of calm . he said.

Ahmed Fayyad, 45, an independent researcher on Israeli affairs who has taken refuge in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, is less optimistic. He said he believes Trump’s influence will be completely harmful to Palestinians as a whole, and Gaza Palestinians in particular.

“Trump’s election only means that Netanyahu will continue his plans to invade Gaza and expel its population, but with less pressure and more ease,” said Fayyed, who fled to Deir el-Balah to escape almost a year ago to the intense bombings in the east of Khan Younis. said.

Trump is “a more dominating figure” whose “influence over all parties would mean Netanyahu can get away with doing what he always wanted, which is to conquer Gaza,” he said.

“Amid the weakened Palestinian front and the absence of any Arab unity and solidarity, the entire Palestinian cause faces its greatest threat yet.”

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.