STORY: Amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Palestinians fear U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to end fighting and rebuild here in Gaza could be left behind.
:: Gaza City, Gaza
Since October, a fragile ceasefire has help, and what Trump called his "Board of Peace" was working to implement the next phases of the truce.
But three sources with knowledge of discussions told Reuters that such talks have been on hold since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.
And that has left Jamal Sobeh, in Gaza City, despondent.
"We had great confidence in Trump's Board of Peace. We were very surprised and very disappointed when we heard that the talks stopped in the Board of Peace. We want to rebuild our homes, fix them and return to our homes - even in tents, just return to our homes, for the war to end in all areas, even in Gaza, for the war to end."
The pause threatens to stall implementation of Trump's flagship Middle East peace initiative, which ?he has cast as a major foreign policy objective.
Trump's Gaza plan has hinged in part on whether Hamas militants would lay down their arms in exchange for amnesty.
A White House official denied there had been any pause in the talks and said discussions on disarmament were "ongoing and positive".
Without commenting directly on the talks, an Israeli government official said the issue of Hamas disarmament was non-negotiable.
One of the sources, who has direct knowledge of work by Trump's Board of Peace mission, described the pause as a brief, minor delay caused by flight disruptions preventing mediators and representatives from traveling around the region.
A Hamas official confirmed that talks on Trump's Gaza plan had been frozen for now, but declined to elaborate.
The October truce halted major Israeli military operations in Gaza, but Israel has continued to strike what it said were Hamas targets for what it claimed were violations of the ceasefire.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 640 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since October. Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
In Jabalia, Talal Hamouda attributed a recent calm in Gaza to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being distracted by operations in Iran and Lebanon.
"The moment the war on Iran is over, he will come back to us with the same frequency, with the same violence, in the same way, the frequency of violence will not end. He is now busy with Iran and it has nothing to do with Trump's plan."
