The U.S. State Department has announced that it possesses “credible reports” suggesting Hamas might breach the ceasefire by launching an attack against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The department emphasized that such an attack “would constitute a direct and grave violation” of the ceasefire agreement brokered by President Donald Trump, which successfully brought an end to the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas.

No additional information has been provided regarding the specifics of the potential attack.

The State Department asserted, “Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire.”

Previously, President Trump cautioned via social media that “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.”

After making this threat, the U.S. President later clarified that he does not intend to deploy U.S. troops into Gaza.

“It’s not going to be us,” he told reporters. “We won’t have to. There are people very close, very nearby that will go in and they’ll do the trick very easily, but under our auspices.”

Trump’s hostile rhetoric represented a shift after initially expressing nonchalance about Hamas killings, saying they had taken out “a couple of gangs that were very bad.”

It is not known if the topic of Gaza will feature prominently in talks, though Australia did break with the USA to recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly last month.

Reported with Associated Press.