US warns of ‘credible reports’ Hamas planning imminent attack on Gaza civilians, calls it ceasefire breach

Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far released all 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese. Photo / Fadel Senna, AFP

The United States State Department said it had “credible reports” that Palestinian armed group Hamas was planning an imminent attack against civilians in Gaza, a move Washington said would be a “ceasefire violation”.

“This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,” the State Department said in a statement.

“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire.”

The statement did not elaborate on what those measures would entail, although US President Donald Trump had this week threatened Hamas over the killings of civilians.

“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump had said in a post on his Truth Social network, without specifying who he meant by “we”.

Hamas and Israel agreed to a phased peace deal last week that saw Israel end its military offensive in Gaza in return for the release of the hostages that remained in the Palestinian group’s custody after its October 7, 2023, attack.

The first phase of the deal, involving the release of living hostages – and the return of the remains of those who are dead – is in the fraught process of implementation.

Washington said it had informed the guarantors of the peace deal – which include the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey – of the “imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas”.

Earlier this week, Hamas tightened its grip on Gaza’s ruined cities, launching a crackdown and executing alleged collaborators.

Hamas published a video on its official channel showing the street execution of eight blindfolded and kneeling suspects, branding them “collaborators and outlaws”. The footage was apparently from Monday evening (local time).

– Agence France-Presse