The U.S. Department of State said Saturday it has received credible reports suggesting that Hamas is planning an imminent attack targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
In a statement, the department said it had alerted the guarantor nations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, warning that such an attack would undermine recent mediation efforts.
“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 read.
The ceasefire, which took effect on 10 October, includes provisions for a prisoner and detainee exchange, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Earlier Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had received the body of a tenth deceased Israeli hostage from Hamas, in addition to 20 living hostages. Later in the day, the IDF confirmed it had received the bodies of two more Israeli hostages.
Hamas has not yet responded to the U.S. statement. However, the group earlier criticised Israel’s continued closure of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, saying it would delay recovery operations and the handover of hostage remains.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to keep the crossing shut “constitutes a blatant breach of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made before mediators and guarantor parties,” Hamas said in a press release.