Hamas denies US claim of group's ‘imminent attack’ plan against Palestinians in Gaza
The US claimed that Hamas is planning an 'imminent attack' against Palestinians and that it would be a “grave” violation of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Palestinian militant outfit Hamas on Sunday denied US statement that cited credible reports to allege that the an “imminent attack" on Gazans and a subsequent ceasefire violation is being planned by the group.
Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist political and militant group that governs the Gaza Strip. It was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. Designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including the US, Israel, and the European Union (EU), it has both a political wing and an armed wing known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The US State Department said it informed countries involved in the Gaza peace agreement that an attack by Hamas is being planned against Palestinians and that it would be a “grave” violation of the ceasefire deal.
“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,” according to a release Saturday by the State Department that shared no details of the “credible reports” it cited.
“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” the statement said.
Responding to the US State Department statement, Hamas said such allegations were false, Reuters reported.
Gaza ceasefire
A ceasefire that hangs by a thread in Gaza after Hamas released surviving hostages and returned bodies of the deceased captives with Israel on Monday.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces said that Hamas returned two coffins of dead Israeli hostages as part of the agreement between Hamas and Israel.
The US-brokered ceasefire was agreed to after a series of meetings in Egypt that involved all stakeholders agreement. Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas has returned all 20 surviving hostages and the remains of 12 deceased ones.
The terms of the ceasefire agreement required the Hamas to hand over all of the hostages, dead and alive, before Monday at 0900 GMT.
Hamas had has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies from under the rubble in Gaza, where Israel's offensive has razed scores of buildings.
Israel's war on Gaza erupted after Palestinian outfit Hamas's October 7, 2023, siege in Southern Israel.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians. The Hamas militants took 251 hostages to Gaza.
