The US state department on Saturday (local time) said it had “credible reports” that Hamas was planning an attack on civilians in Gaza, calling it a possible violation of the ceasefire. “This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would be a serious breach of the ceasefire and undermine the progress made through mediation,” the state department said in a statement. It added that if Hamas goes ahead with the attack, measures would be taken to protect people in Gaza and maintain the ceasefire.“Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire.”Trump had earlier posted on social media: “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.” The warning comes as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said the war in Gaza will only end once the second phase of the truce is complete, which involves disarming Hamas. “Phase B involves disarming Hamas, or more precisely, demilitarizing the Gaza Strip after stripping Hamas of its weapons,” Netanyahu told Channel 14. “When that is done, hopefully easily, but if not, in a hard way, the war will end,” he said.Hamas handed over two coffins of deceased hostages from Gaza late Saturday.
