Hamas may be planning attack on Palestinian civilians, U.S. says

The terrorist group Hamas could be planning an attack against “Palestinian civilians” in the Gaza Strip, the US State Department announced on Saturday.

In a statement, the State Department said it had “informed the guarantor countries of the Gaza peace agreement of credible reports indicating an imminent violation of the ceasefire by Hamas against the population of Gaza.”

It provided no details on the potential attack, target or location, or when it might take place, saying only that it “would constitute a direct and serious violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress made through mediation efforts.”

“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 added. He did not reveal what these measures might entail.

This also comes after CBS News obtained video Wednesday, which shows armed Hamas fighters standing over Palestinians they accuse of being members of gangs collaborating with Israel. Moments later in the video, they execute them.

Israeli hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin told CBS News that the video depicts a long series of sanctions that Hamas uses against suspected Israeli collaborators.

“Hamas is killing them because they can,” Baskin told CBS News this week. “Hamas is a criminal organization that has ruled the Palestinian people in Gaza for almost 20 years. It is not a democratic and liberal regime.”

Baskin also explained that Palestinian militias opposed to Hamas had been armed by Israel. during the war with the aim of weakening the power of Hamas.

“Israel has empowered, with weapons and money, gangs of Palestinians who were involved in mostly illegal activities in the past – drug sales, illegal smuggling – and given them as an alternative to Hamas,” Baskin said. “It’s not sustainable.”

President Trump appeared to acknowledge Tuesday that Hamas was engaged in violence against Palestinian militias.

“They took out some gangs that were very bad, very bad,” Mr. Trump said of Hamas in an interview with reporters. “And it didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you.”

Hamas’ role in Gaza’s future remains unclear. Israel has demanded that Hamas disarm, and the ceasefire agreement calls for it to cede its governance of the Palestinian territory to a “technocratic and apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for ensuring the daily management of public services and municipalities for the population of Gaza.”

On Monday, Mr. Trump and world leaders signed the agreement negotiated by the United States intended to put an end to the war between Israel and Hamas which has lasted for two years.

As part of the deal, Hamas released 20 hostages alive, while Israel released around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Israel also withdrew its troops to a previously approved line in Gaza.

The deal also calls for Hamas to release the remains of 28 deceased hostages, but so far it has only released the remains of 10 of them. Two other bodies were released by Hamas on Saturday, but are awaiting identification.

According to the Associated Press, Israel has so far returned the bodies of 135 Palestinians to Gaza as part of the deal.