Jeremy Scahill Speaks with Gaza Aid Coordinator Eyad Amawi on Gaza’s Impossible Choices

Eyad Amawi, Gaza relief coordinator gives a sobering account of how ordinary Palestinians in Gaza are responding to the latest ceasefire talks. The overwhelming sentiment, he says, is exhaustion. People are barely following the details — not because they don’t care, but because survival consumes every ounce of attention.

Most Palestinians in Gaza don’t ask about clauses or guarantees. They ask one thing: when will the ceasefire be announced?

Amawi notes that after nearly 22 months of continuous genocidal war, the need for even a temporary pause — to eat, to rest, to bury the dead — is overpowering. Still, those more politically aware understand that the current proposal is a trap. Many fear that accepting a flawed deal will simply normalize Israeli control and lead to permanent displacement.

Amawi stresses that any ceasefire must include unrestricted aid. Without that, nothing changes. “If aid is blocked, we will go 60 days without tangible change,” he warns.

He makes clear that there’s broad consensus inside Gaza on one red line: no Palestinian negotiator can accept a plan that allows the construction of a concentration camp in Rafah. “We will not forgive them,” he says. “We will not allow anyone to push us into this trap.”