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The US State Department warned on Saturday that there are “credible reports” that Hamas could break the peace deal with “planned attacks” on Palestinian civilians.
“This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would be a direct and serious violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,” the department said in a statement on social media. “The guarantors demand that Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.
“The United States and other guarantors remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the protection of civilians, maintaining peace on the ground, and advancing peace and prosperity for the people of Gaza and the entire region.”
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect last weekend following two years of war in the region following attacks in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas defends execution of Palestinians after Trump issues stern warning to terror group
Hamas members search for the bodies of hostages in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday. (AP Photo/Jihad Alshrafi)
Under the agreement on Monday, the 20 remaining Israeli hostages were returned to Israel, but the remains of more than a dozen of the executed hostages are still under Hamas control.
The State Department said that if Hamas moves forward with the attack “measures will be taken to protect the safety of the people of Gaza and maintain the integrity of the ceasefire”.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued a warning on Truth Social after footage of Hamas fighters executing Palestinians in Gaza City’s main square circulated online.
“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,” he wrote.
Israeli troops ‘open fire’ on suspects who approached troops in northern Gaza
According to Reuters, at least 33 people were killed by Hamas in recent days in what officials described as a campaign to “show force” after the ceasefire. Israeli sources say most of those killed were from families accused of collaborating with Israel or supporting rival militias.
Trump later clarified that American troops would not go to Gaza.
In this scene from verified social media video confirmed to Reuters by a Hamas source, seven people are forced to kneel and shot in the back by Hamas gunmen during a public execution in Gaza on October 14. (Reuters)
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“It won’t be us,” he told reporters. “We won’t have to do that. There are people who are very close, very close who will go in, and they will do this very easily, but under our auspices.”
Fox News’ Efrat Lacher and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
