The U.S. State Department announced on Saturday that the terrorist group Hamas may be planning an attack on “Palestinian civilians” in the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the department revealed that it “informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.”
The State Department did not provide specific details regarding the potential attack, including the target, location, or timing. However, it emphasized that such an action “would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts.” The statement added that “should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” though it did not specify what those measures might entail.
This announcement follows a video obtained by CBS News on Wednesday, showing armed Hamas fighters standing over Palestinians accused of being gang members collaborating with Israel. Moments later, the video captures these individuals being executed.
Israeli hostage negotiator Gersh Baskin told CBS News, “Hamas is killing them because they can. Hamas is a criminal organization that has ruled the Palestinian people in Gaza for almost 20 years. This is not a democratic, liberal regime.”
Baskin also explained that Palestinian militia groups opposed to Hamas had been armed by Israel during the war as a tactic to weaken Hamas’ power. “Israel has empowered, with weapons and money, gangs of Palestinians who were involved in mostly illegal activities in the past—selling drugs, illegal smuggling—and they’ve empowered them as an alternative to Hamas,” Baskin said, adding, “This is not sustainable.”
Earlier this week, President Trump appeared to acknowledge Hamas’ actions against Palestinian militia groups. Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, he said, “They did take out a couple of gangs that were very bad gangs, very, very bad. And that didn’t bother me much, to be honest with you.”
The future role of Hamas in Gaza remains uncertain. Israel has demanded that Hamas disarm, and the ceasefire agreement calls for Hamas to relinquish governance of the Palestinian territory to a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza.”
On Monday, President Trump and world leaders signed onto the U.S.-brokered agreement aimed at halting the two-year Israel-Hamas conflict. As part of the deal, Hamas released 20 living hostages, while Israel freed approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Israel also withdrew its troops back to a preapproved line in Gaza.
The agreement further calls for Hamas to release the remains of 28 deceased hostages. So far, Hamas has only released the remains of 10 individuals. An additional two bodies were released by Hamas on Saturday but are pending identification.
According to the Associated Press, Israel has returned to Gaza the bodies of 135 Palestinians as part of the agreement.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hamas-may-be-planning-attack-on-palestinian-civilians-us-says/
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