‘Angry’, ‘numb’ – Palestinian Americans on Trump’s Gaza comments

Iman Kishawi, who was born in Gaza in 1958 but fled because of war when she was seven years old, said she became “depressed a little” over the news.

“We need to give people a chance to live on their homeland,” the Los Angeles-area resident said, adding that losing your home is like “losing your identity”.

Just last month, after the announcement of a ceasefire following 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, Ms Kishawi began contemplating her eventual return to Gaza.

“I just have a yearning of going and belonging and helping my people,” she said.

But that fantasy has been tossed into doubt – for now – following Trump’s remarks.

“The minute you see hope coming, it’s gone,” Ms Kishawi said.

The current conflict started when hundreds of Hamas fighters stormed across Israel’s southern border on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages back to Gaza.

Israel responded with an air bombardment, then a full-scale ground invasion that has left more than 46,700 people – most of them civilians – dead, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.