Word from U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel has agreed to the conditions needed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza raised hopes on Wednesday (July 2) in the enclave, where health officials said at least 20 people had been killed in Israeli attacks.

A "final" proposal would be delivered by the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, to Hamas, Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday (July 1), after what he described as a "long and productive" meeting between his representatives and Israeli officials.

For Gazans, who have fled multiple times and face daily struggles to find food 21 months into Israel's military campaign, the statements provided a glimmer of hope.

"We want a complete end to the war on Gaza, not like every time, a partial agreement and ceasefire that last a month or two then the war returns," said Palestinian man Samir Al-Masri.

Another displaced Palestinian, Adnan Al-Assar, said he hoped Trump’s statement would be implemented, and that he would stop the war in Gaza as he did in the Iranian-Israeli conflict.

"We hope he’s honest this time... Trump can stop the war if he wants to," Al-Assar added.

There is growing public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move strongly opposed by hardline members of his right-wing ruling coalition.

There was no immediate official comment by either Israel or Hamas to Trump's latest statement on the progress of the plan.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel's single deadliest day.

Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (JULY 2, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN KHAN YOUNIS / STREET VENDORS SITTING AND PEOPLE WALKING BY

2. DISPLACED PALESTINIAN BARBER, SAMIR SHAHEEN, WORKING

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED PALESTINIAN BARBER, SAMIR SHAHEEN, SAYING:

"We heard yesterday in the news that U.S. President Donald Trump announced a decision that he will stop the war on Gaza. We hope this decision happens as soon as possible, because frankly, we are tired and had enough of the injustice and the genocide we're being subjected to."

4. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN MAN, SAMIR AL-MASRI, SAYING:

"We want a complete end to the war on Gaza, not like every time, a partial agreement and ceasefire that last a month or two then the war returns. No, we want a complete end to this war and this genocide, with them taking their hostages, releasing our prisoners held in their jails, the rebuilding of Gaza and bringing life back to our people in Gaza Strip."

6. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERING AND WALKING

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED PALESTINIAN MAN, ADNAN AL-ASSAR, SAYING:

"(Look at) how he (referring to U.S. president Donald Trump) was before he took the power, and how he was saying, 'in my first day in office, I would stop the fighting - I would stop the war in Gaza Strip'. But unfortunately, all his statements went in vain. We all saw with our own eyes how Trump was working for the benefit of the Israeli entity."

8. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED PALESTINIAN MAN, ADNAN AL-ASSAR, SAYING:

"We hope he’s honest this time. We're used to him not being honest in the previous times. We hope he is serious like he was seirous during the Israeli-Iranian war - when he said the war should stop, and it stopped. (U.S. president Donald) Trump can stop the war if he wants to."

10. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN THE STREET / CARS DRIVING