In this gripping episode of Mideast Horizons, Asher Fredman speaks with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gazan analyst and reform advocate now based in Washington, DC, whose family has lived through every stage of Gaza’s tragedy. Ahmed shares his deeply personal story of loss, survival, and determination to speak truth about Hamas’s rule and the grim reality facing ordinary Gazans after the ceasefire.

He describes how Hamas has reasserted its control through brutal retribution and violence, even as Gaza lies in ruins. Al-Khatib offers a sobering assessment of the group’s enduring power and the challenge of bringing about its disarmament, despite growing opposition to its rule. He outlines his plan for an effective international stabilization force — with real authority, extensive capabilities, and broad international backing — as the most realistic path toward restoring order.

Looking ahead, he argues that Gaza’s future depends not on slogans but on a new mindset of radical pragmatism: a turn from resistance to rebuilding, from victimhood to responsibility, and from endless conflict toward a vision of coexistence and renewal.