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Hamas on Sunday rejected allegations by the U.S. State Department that the group is harming Palestinian civilians and violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement, instead accusing the Israeli military of arming criminal gangs conducting attacks against the population.
The State Department said late Saturday that the U.S. has "credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza."
"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. The guarantors demand Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms," the State Department noted.
"These false allegations are fully consistent with misleading Israeli propaganda and provide cover for the occupation's continued crimes and organized aggression against our people," Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram.
Hamas accused the Israeli army of arming and funding criminal gangs that carry out attacks targeting civilians in Gaza and loot humanitarian aid trucks and Palestinian property.
"The facts on the ground reveal the exact opposite," Hamas said, citing public confessions made by armed gangs via media reports and video clips. "The occupation's involvement in spreading chaos and disrupting security" is confirmed through these confessions, the group claimed.
Hamas stated that Gaza's police forces, supported by the population, are fulfilling their duty by pursuing these gangs and holding them accountable through legal mechanisms.
"The group called on the U.S. to stop echoing Israel's misleading narrative and to act against Israeli violations, most notably the financial and logistical backing of criminal gangs," the statement said.
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The State Department said that if Hamas proceeds with the alleged attack on Palestinian civilians, it "would constitute a direct and grave violation" of the ceasefire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas.
"Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the State Department said.
The department did not disclose further details about the potential attack.
"The United States and the other guarantors remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring the safety of civilians, maintaining calm on the ground, and advancing peace and prosperity for the people of Gaza and the region as a whole," the State Department concluded.
A ceasefire and hostage swap agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a phased plan presented by Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
U.S. President Trump previously warned on social media that "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 U.S. president later clarified that he would not send U.S. troops into Gaza after launching the threat against Hamas. "It's not going to be us," Trump told reporters.
"We won't have to. There are people very close, very nearby, that will go in, and they'll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices."
Trump's hostile rhetoric represented a shift from his earlier statements, when he expressed nonchalance about Hamas's killings of civilians. "They had taken out 'a couple of gangs that were very bad,'" Trump had said.
Since October 2023, the Israeli military operation has killed more than 68,100 people and injured 170,200 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
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