Just days ago, many Palestinians didn’t put much stock in President Donald Trump’s push for a peace deal to end two years of fighting in Gaza. “People are afraid to feel hope,” Gaza resident Tamer Misilih told our reporter Ghada Abdulfattah as he tried to fix his sandal in his tent. “Even if a deal is signed, I don’t believe Israel will keep its word.” Even amid celebrations overnight, some still expressed skepticism or fear.

No doubt many of the hostages whom Hamas took on Oct. 7, 2023, have been afraid to hope, too. This week released hostage Eli Sharabi shared one thing that kept him going amid rats and worms underground: Finding something good that happened each day. Then four to five things a day. “I knew it’s like a muscle you have to train,” he told Bari Weiss of The Free Press.

The coming days and weeks will test the muscles of hope and peacemaking in the Middle East. May they get stronger through exercise.