Recent surveys indicate that a significant number of Americans remain doubtful about the long-term effectiveness of Donald Trump’s peace initiative in the Middle East. A poll conducted by JL Partners, exclusively shared with the Daily Mail, reveals that less than a third of those surveyed—only 31 percent—are optimistic that the agreement will bring an end to the conflict in Gaza. Meanwhile, 25 percent expressed uncertainty about the durability of the peace, and nearly 44 percent anticipated that the region could revert back to hostilities.

The poll, carried out on October 14th and 15th with a sample of 1,004 registered voters, highlights the skepticism surrounding the agreement brokered by Trump between Israel and Hamas just two weeks prior. Although Trump was lauded as the ‘peace president’ following the deal, achieving lasting peace in this volatile region remains a formidable challenge. There have already been reports of Hamas allegedly breaching the accord by retaining the bodies of hostages and engaging in violent confrontations with other Palestinian groups, even as Israeli forces withdraw.

On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance issued a stern warning to Hamas, stating that the group would face severe consequences if it fails to comply with President Trump’s ceasefire agreement. “Our message to Hamas is unequivocal. The president’s 20-point plan is explicit,” Vance asserted. Recent video evidence from Gaza, purportedly depicting the group executing fellow Palestinians, has led Trump to threaten military intervention.

‘It’s that Hamas has to disarm. It’s that Hamas has to actually behave itself and that Hamas, while all the fighters can be given some sort of clemency, they’re not going to be able to kill each other and they’re not going to be able to kill their fellow Palestinians,’ the vice president continued during his speech Tuesday. Since the ceasefire deal was struck, videos of Hamas fighters have emerged showing them executing other Palestinians in public, and Israel has also accused the group of violating the terms, prompting Israeli military strikes on Sunday. The Gaza Health Ministry claimed Tuesday that 13 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours.

Despite that uncertainty, when asked which president had done the most for the Middle East, Trump received more votes than his four White House predecessors combined, in the Daily Mail/JL Partners poll. The results also suggest that a majority in the United States believes Trump’s role in stopping the fighting will be one of the crowning moments of his presidency. Fifty-five percent of voters believe Trump has handled peace in the Middle East ‘well’ – more than double who said he was handling it ‘badly’ (24 percent), according to the survey.

Some MAGA-aligned Trump backers are already expressing skepticism that a deal can hold. Former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz piled on criticism about the deal after news broke of the ceasefire breach Sunday, posting on X that ‘Bibi is now actively sabotaging Trump’s peace deal. And Trump knows it.’

Trump visited Israel last week, hours after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. After the breach of the ceasefire, about 44 individuals were killed, per data shared by local hospitals. The strikes came after Israel accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire by attacking its troops. The momentary resumption of the conflict was the most serious challenge yet to the tenuous U.S.-backed ceasefire deal. Israel later said it had resumed enforcing the agreement.