US warns of Hamas attack against Gaza civilians

Washington, Oct 19 (IANS) The US Department of State said it has received credible reports suggesting Hamas is planning an imminent attack against Palestinian civilians.

The United States has alerted the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement to those reports, it said in a statement on Saturday.

Such an attack would undermine recent mediation efforts and the progress made toward peace, and "should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire," the department added.

The ceasefire went into effect on October 10. Its first phase includes the exchange of prisoners and detainees, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early Saturday in a statement that it had received the body of the 10th deceased Israeli hostage held in Gaza from Hamas, apart from all the remaining 20 living hostages. On Saturday evening, the IDF updated that it received the bodies of two more deceased Israeli hostages.

Hamas has yet to respond to the US statement.

Earlier, Hamas said Israel's continued closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will "delay recovery operations and the handover of bodies of Israeli hostages."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to keep the crossing closed until further notice "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 statement.

A ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States, went into effect on October 10. Its first phase includes the exchange of prisoners and detainees, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces.

--IANS

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