Gaza Strip residents on Wednesday revealed that they would gladly leave the Strip forever, but fear that those who stay behind would throw Gaza into more violent conflict, according to Israeli news outlet N12.
"[Hamas] are criminals. Their leaving Gaza is far better than the destruction brought about by Sinwar," Khaled, a Gazan opposition activist, told N12. "They are...criminals that trade in the blood of the Palestinian people."
Khaled told the Israeli news outlet that the best solution, in his opinion, would be to let Hamas simply leave the Gaza Strip. He said that the world has failed to adequately support Gazan groups that oppose Hamas; so, getting Hamas out would be the first meaningful step in the right direction.
Senior leaders of the Hamas terror group are preparing a "safe exit" from the Gaza Strip, sources within the terror group revealed to Saudi outlet Asharq al-Awsat on Tuesday.
This comes after the US announced the start of Phase II of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, which calls for establishing a technocratic government to administer the Strip.
Several "prominent political and military leaders who survived the war" are preparing to leave, three Hamas sources told Asharq al-Awsat.
This reaffirms previous statements by terror leader Khaled Mashaal, who stated in December that the terror group will not disarm, give up administrative control in the Strip, or permit the International Stabilization Force to take military oversight of the area.
Hamas will be disarmed, either voluntarily or by force
Iman, another Gaza resident, told N12 that she was holding out hope that Hamas would really hand over all of its weapons and leave Gaza before Israel and the United States decide to disarm them and destroy their tunnels by force, reigniting the war.
"It's clear to everyone that Netanyahu is determined to disarm Hamas and destroy the rest of the tunnels," she said. "And Trump agrees with Netanyahu. Here, in Gaza, we are afraid of what will happen at the end of the period of time that Trump and Netanyahu gave Hamas, until mid-March. This is the deadline for handing over the weapons.
"And we are afraid that the war will return," she added.
Israel is supporting Gazan anti-Hamas groups
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli backing for anti-Hamas groups in June, saying Israel had "activated" clans. Israel has given few details since then.
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that members of the Popular Forces, an Israeli-backed militia, were used to try to draw out trapped Hamas militants from tunnels inside Rafah, as Israel pumped explosives into the tunnels, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Israel provides ample support for anti-Hamas militias, including drone support, intelligence sharing, weapons, cigarettes, and food, the WSJ reported, citing Israeli officials and military reservists.
James Genn and Reuters contributed to this report.