The U.S. State Department warned Saturday that it has “credible reports” indicating Hamas may imminently violate the Gaza cease-fire by launching an attack on Palestinian civilians — a move Washington said would be a “direct and grave violation” of the U.S.-brokered truce and would prompt countermeasures to protect people in Gaza.

In a brief posting on social media, the State Department said it had informed the guarantor nations of the Gaza peace agreement of the intelligence and demanded that Hamas “uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms.” The department said only that the planned attack would “undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts” and warned that “measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire” should the attack proceed. No operational details about the alleged plot were released.

The warning comes amid growing signs that the fragile truce, negotiated last week and credited with temporarily halting two years of conflict, remains under acute strain. U.S. officials have repeatedly cited disturbing footage and reports of public executions and intra-Hamas violence in Gaza since the deal took effect — developments critics say show the group has been unwilling or unable to disarm fully.

President Donald Trump, who helped broker the 20-point peace plan, sternly warned this week that Washington could authorize force if Hamas continues to carry out killings inside Gaza. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza … we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” the president wrote on his platform — a comment his aides later sought to narrow by saying the United States would not itself occupy Gaza but could support allied action.

The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment about the intelligence reports. The agency’s public posting underscored how quickly the diplomatic gains around the cease-fire could unravel if armed factions in Gaza disregard the accord’s terms — and how the guarantor nations are now being pressed to enforce compliance.

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