GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Friday strongly condemned the recent statements made by the US Department of State, which denied genocide and the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.

In a statement, Hamas said: “The statements made by the US State Department, claiming they have not witnessed forced displacement in Gaza and dismissing the UN Committee’s report on genocide as baseless allegations, are a clear reflection of an aggressive US policy that is in line with the ongoing war crimes in Gaza, backed by American support.”

Hamas further emphasized: “The policy of the US administration denying the massacre, genocide, and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, and its continued political and military support for the occupying government, make it complicit in the war crimes.”

“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Israeli war criminals are deluded if they think they can impose projects for the ‘post-war phase’ that undermine our national rights,” Hamas added.

The US government has denied reports of forced displacement, with Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel stating Thursday that they had not witnessed “any kind of specific forced displacement.”

This claim directly contradicts reports from human rights organizations, which accuse Israel of forcibly displacing nearly 1.9 million Palestinians.

Patel also rejected findings by a UN committee that described Israeli military actions in Gaza as consistent with "genocide."

Israel has continued its devastating offensive against Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The onslaught has killed more than 43,700 people and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi