This is an interrogative hamzah (as in the verses before and after), with conjoining waw.
أَوْ أَمِنَ
aw amina
“Or (do) the people of these towns feel secure…?”
Here the two letters are read as a single particle aw, and the interrogative meaning is carried over from the previous verse. The sense of ‘or’ is presenting additional scenarios.
توضیح:
These readings amount to the same meaning [Makki]. Note that the same orthography allows for both readings, as spaces were not used in the Quranic codices in the way they are in modern writing.
He has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel
توضیح:
These readings amount to the same meaning [Makki]. Note that the same orthography allows for both readings, as spaces were not used in the Quranic codices in the way they are in modern writing.