The statement added that “measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” though it did not specify what those measures would entail.
US President Donald Trump (Photo Credits: ANI)
The US State Department on Saturday said it had received “credible reports” that Hamas is preparing to launch an imminent attack against civilians in Gaza, an act the United States warned would constitute a “grave violation” of the recently brokered ceasefire agreement.
“This planned assault on Palestinian civilians would directly breach the ceasefire agreement and jeopardise the progress made through intensive mediation efforts,” the State Department said in a statement.
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The State Department did not provide further details on the attack, and it is unclear what reports it was citing.
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The statement added that “measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” though it did not specify what those measures would entail.
The United States has informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of 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…
— Department of State (@StateDept) October 18, 2025
President Donald Trump this week issued a sharp warning to the militant group. “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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without clarifying who he meant by “we.”
The warning comes days after Hamas and Israel reached a phased peace deal that ended Israel’s months-long military offensive in Gaza in exchange for the release of remaining hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. The first phase of the ceasefire deal is currently in progress—all living hostages have been released, and the bodies of the deceased are still being returned to Israel.
As part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners from its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Washington said it had notified all guarantors of the peace accord, including Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, about Hamas’s “imminent ceasefire violation.”
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.
Earlier this week, Hamas intensified its control over Gaza’s devastated urban areas, executing eight alleged collaborators in public. A video released on the group’s official channel showed blindfolded men kneeling before being shot, a move that further raised tensions in the area.
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