US warns Hamas plans attack on Palestinian civilians

The US State Department said on Saturday it had “credible reports” that Hamas could violate the ceasefire by attacking Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

If the attack took place, it “would constitute a direct and serious violation” of President Donald Trump’s agreement to end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, the statement said.

No further details have been released about the potential attack.

“If Hamas continues this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” the State Department said.

Trump had previously warned on social media that “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.”

The American president then clarified that he would not send American troops to Gaza after having launched the threat against Hamas.

“It won’t be us,” he told reporters. “We won’t have to do that. There are people very close, very close who will come in and do the thing very easily, but under our auspices.”

Trump’s hostile rhetoric represented a shift after he initially expressed nonchalance about the Hamas killings, saying Hamas had taken out “a few gangs that were very bad.”