As a rainstorm and Trump sweep through Gaza, residents vow to stay.

Reports that Trump plans to seize the enclave and expel them have only strengthened their resolve to stay. 

In the early hours of Thursday, fierce winds and heavy rain swept across the Gaza Strip, flooding tents sheltering displaced families and tearing away plastic sheeting hastily used to patch shattered homes.

Yet, even as the storm battered their already devastated enclave, residents said U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to seize Gaza and expel them had only strengthened their resolve to stay.

“Despite the tragedy we are living through, despite the rain and terrible weather, people are staying even without a roof over their heads,” said Qassem Abu Hassoun, standing amid the wreckage of homes and broken roads in Rafah, southern Gaza. His family had returned to their ruined house the moment a ceasefire was declared on January 19, after months of sheltering further north. This time, he said, they would never leave again.

“People are holding onto their land, their country—down to the last grain of sand,” he told Reuters.

The night after most Gazans learned of Trump’s shocking announcement, the storm tore through makeshift tents of plastic and cloth, jolting families awake as they scrambled to salvage what little they had. By morning, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had ordered the army to prepare a plan for the “voluntary departure” of Gaza residents.

“It seems even the weather is against us, but neither the weather, nor Trump, nor Israel will drive us from our land,” said Abdel Ghani, a father of four, whose family has been living in the ruins of their Gaza City home since it was destroyed by Israeli strikes.

The wind had ripped away the plastic coverings over broken windows and gaping holes in the walls. Rainwater had seeped in. Yet leaving was not an option, he said in a text message to Reuters.

“Is he insane?” he said of Trump. “We will not sell our land to a real estate developer. We are hungry, homeless, and desperate, but we are not traitors. If he really wants to help, let him come rebuild Gaza instead.”

In Israel, Channel 12 reported that Katz’s plan would offer exit routes via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.

The forced displacement of Palestinians is one of the most contentious issues in the Middle East. Under international law, expelling a population under military occupation is a war crime, prohibited by the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

Hamas official Basem Naim dismissed Katz’s statement as an attempt to cover up what he described as Israel’s failure to achieve its objectives in the war.

Israel has said its aim is to eliminate Hamas, the group responsible for the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. But in the weeks since the ceasefire, Hamas fighters have reasserted control over Gaza.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned home, particularly to the devastated northern parts of the territory. Naim said this reflected their deep attachment to the land.

“If they are sincere in their claims, they should lift the suffocating blockade on Gaza, open the crossings, and they will be shocked to see that more people are returning than leaving—despite the massive destruction,” he said.

The war erupted after Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in the October 7 attack, according to Israeli figures.

Since then, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians over the past 16 months, according to the Gaza health ministry. The scale of destruction has sparked accusations of genocide and war crimes—charges Israel vehemently denies.

A six-week ceasefire, brokered by Egypt and Qatar with U.S. backing, has largely held. But whether a lasting resolution will follow remains uncertain.