Hamas rejects US statement on its 'planned attack on Palestinian civilians'

GAZA/WASHINGTON -- Hamas on Sunday rejected a statement from the US Department of State that the Palestinian militant group would launch an attack against Palestinian civilians.

The US State Department said Saturday that it had received "credible reports" suggesting that 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 on the Hamas plan, said the department.

In a statement issued Sunday, Hamas said such allegations were groundless.

"Hamas rejects these accusations in the US State Department's statement and categorically denies claims of an 'imminent attack' or 'violation of the ceasefire agreement,'" said the statement.

Such an attack by Hamas 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 US department said.

The ceasefire went into effect on Oct 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.

In a statement early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 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.

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 press statement.