By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

Hamas was planning an attack against Gaza civilians

The US State Department on Saturday 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," said the State Department 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."

No details of the planned attack were provided.

In a statement released Sunday, the Palestinian militant group called on the US to “stop repeating" Israel's "misleading narrative and to focus on curbing its repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement”.

Hamas accused Israeli authorities of forming, arming and funding "criminal gangs" that carried out murders, kidnappings, and aided looting.

“The facts on the ground reveal the exact opposite," said the statement, which accused the criminal gangs of carrying out "killings, kidnappings, theft of aid trucks, and assaults against Palestinian civilians".

The Palestinian militant group said police forces in Gaza were performing their duty by pursuing those gangs to hold them accountable.

Hamas-led fighters clashed with at least two armed groups in eastern Gaza City that Hamas alleges are involved in looting aid and collaborating with Israel. They executed a handful of suspects in public, in widely condemned street killings. 

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.

US President Donald Trump 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".

 

Israel to keep Rafah crossing closed

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.

Its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages, said the Israeli prime minister.

Netanyahu's statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza.

The United States has informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.  

 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 guarantors demand that Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.   

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

 The United States and the other guarantors remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring the safety of civilians, maintaining calm on the ground, and advancing peace and prosperity for the people of Gaza and the region as a whole.

 

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