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The US says it has “credible reports” that Hamas is planning an “imminent” attack on civilians in Gaza, which it says would be a “direct and grave” violation of the ceasefire agreement.<\/p>\n
A planned attack against Palestinians would “undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts”, a statement by the state department said.<\/p>\n
It did not not provide further details – or how this would be a breach of the US-brokered ceasefire agreed with Israel. <\/p>\n
Hamas rejected the US statement as false. It has, however, been re-establishing control – and has had gunfights with a local clan in Gaza – in the power vacuum that followed the Israeli partial withdrawal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The first phase of the ceasefire deal between is currently in progress – all living hostages have been released and bodies of the deceased are still being returned to Israel.<\/p>\n
Also part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.<\/p>\n
Washington said it had already informed other guarantors of the Gaza peace agreement – which include Egypt, Qatar and Turkey – and demanded Hamas uphold its end of the ceasefire terms. <\/p>\n
“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 said<\/a>.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump has previously warned Hamas against the killing of civilians. <\/p>\n “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 said in a post on Truth Social earlier this week.<\/p>\n He later clarified that he would not be sending US troops into Gaza.<\/p>\n Last week, BBC Verify authenticated graphic videos that showed a public execution carried out by Hamas gunmen in Gaza.<\/p>\n The videos showed several men with guns line up eight people, whose arms were tied behind their backs, before killing them in a crowded square.<\/p>\n BBC Verify could not confirm the identity of the masked gunmen, though some appeared to be wearing the green headbands associated with Hamas.<\/p>\n Israel’s military has confirmed that one of two sets of remains<\/a> handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza on Saturday are those of Ronen Engel. The identity of the second person yet to be announced.<\/p>\n So far, the remains of 11 out of 28 deceased hostages had been returned to Israel.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed until Hamas returns the remaining bodies.<\/p>\n The Rafah crossing is a vital gateway for Palestinians who need medical assistance to leave Gaza, and for thousands of others to return.<\/p>\n Separately on Saturday, 11 members of one Palestinian family were killed<\/a> by an Israeli tank shell, according to the Hamas-run civil defence ministry, in what was the deadliest single incident involving Israeli soldiers in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n The Israeli military said soldiers had fired at a “suspicious vehicle” that had crossed the so-called yellow line demarcating the area still occupied by Israeli forces in Gaza.<\/p>\n There are no physical markers of this line, and it is unclear if the bus did cross it. The BBC has asked the IDF for the coordinates of the incident.<\/p>\n The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.<\/p>\n At least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable.<\/p>\n In September, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza<\/a>. Israel categorically rejected the report as “distorted and false”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n