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The war in Gaza has stopped — but the killing hasn’t.
Terrified Palestinians fear Hamas has no plans to saddle up for “phase two” of President Trump’s peace deal as the terror group’s fury and violence against civilians has been on full display since Israeli forces retreated back home.
“From the first moment the Israeli planes disappeared from the sky, Hamas began punishing the families,” one Gazan activist in the war-torn land told The Post.
“They accused people of collaborating with Israel — but that’s not true. They just opposed Hamas during the war.”
The resident described grisly scenes of men dragged from homes and shot in the street without trials.
“Hamas executed civilians in front of people’s eyes,” said the activist, who asked not to be named for security reasons. “No names, no confessions — nothing. Just death.”
The domestic bloodshed comes as Trump on Tuesday said phase two of the peace agreement — which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and establishment of a new governing body — had begun.
“… A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday, referencing the return of the living Israelis Hamas took hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.
“… Phase Two begins right NOW!!!”
Despite Trump’s assurances, the activist and other anti-Hamas Gazans with whom The Post spoke Tuesday warned that the terror group is showing no willingness to move ahead with the next step of the peace plan.
“Hamas is showing off its weapons, its strength,” the source in Gaza said. “They’re saying, ‘We are back — stronger than ever.’”
Activist Amin Abed — who fled Gaza after Hamas tortured and nearly beat him to death over his opposition to the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel — said the terror group was using the executions as a show of force and has no intentions of relinquishing power or giving up its weapons.
“We see Hamas restoring its full strength. They’re everywhere again — as police, as militia, as security,” he said. “We are deeply concerned about the return of Hamas to power and the continuation of the violence under Hamas in Gaza and exposing us again to the same injustice that we experienced for the last 17 years.”
If Hamas remains in power, Abed warned that the “cycle of violence between Israel and Hamas will emerge again sometime soon.”
“We are afraid that the bloody war would be back and Hamas will wage another Oct. 7 attack,” he said. “We believe the world will forget about us, and Hamas will rule us with an iron fist for many more years.”
The source in Gaza predicted Hamas would next try to convince Trump and his allies that only the group can maintain “security and stability” in Gaza as a strategy to stay in power.
“Trump and Netanyahu must pressure Hamas and its backers — Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey — to truly implement the terms of the peace deal,” the activist said. “If Hamas keeps even some weapons, it means they keep everything. They’ll never leave Gaza.”
While some analysts have speculated that a civil war could break out among the factions in Gaza, the activist in Gaza said it would not be possible — because Hamas is simply too powerful.
“Hamas is much stronger than any family or civilian group,” the man said. “They can crush anyone who stands against them. What we’re seeing now is Hamas waging a war against its own people.”
He added that most Gazans oppose Hamas and long for peace — but feel powerless.
“We couldn’t stop Oct. 7, and we can’t stop Hamas now,” they said. “The world needs to understand that Gazans are not Hamas. We want peace, not war. But every time we speak out, Hamas kills us first.”
Risking his life by speaking to The Post from Gaza, his over-arching message to the world was simple — and desperate.
“Don’t leave us to Hamas again.”
