HAMAS rejected accusations of intending to attack residents of Gaza 0 76

The Islamist terrorist organization HAMAS, recognized as a terrorist group by the EU and Germany, rejected Washington's accusations that it plans to attack Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. In a statement on Sunday, October 19, HAMAS said these are "baseless claims" that align with "Israeli propaganda."

The evening before, the U.S. State Department warned of an "imminent" and previously planned attack by the Islamist group on Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip. The United States also informed the guarantor countries of the peace plan in the region about "credible reports" indicating a violation of the existing ceasefire, the State Department reported. Such an attack would undermine progress in the peace process in the region, they noted.

Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 and Israeli troops withdrew from approximately half of the recent conflict zone, there have been reports of the execution of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip by HAMAS militants, the dpa agency reports, citing State Department data.

Reports of clashes between HAMAS and local clans

In its statement, HAMAS also accused Israel of supporting "criminal gangs" in the Gaza Strip that "committed murders, kidnappings, theft of humanitarian cargo, and attacks on Palestinian civilians." In recent weeks, there have been numerous reports of clashes between the group and rival clans in the region that oppose HAMAS's authority, the dpa agency reports.

The declared ceasefire between Israel and HAMAS is currently unstable also due to delays in the transfer of the remaining bodies of hostages. HAMAS justifies the delay by stating that it is difficult to locate the remains of deceased hostages as they are under the rubble of buildings and tunnels destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, and that "special equipment" is needed to extract them.