Saeed Abu Elaish’s wife, two of his daughters and two dozen others from his extended family were killed by Israeli airstrikes over the past 15 months. His house in northern Gaza was destroyed. He and surviving family now live in a tent set up in the rubble of his home.

In interviews, some Palestinians said they would rather leave Gaza, given the inescapable devastation — but the decision was theirs, not Trump’s, to make.