
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday (Apr 23) called Hamas "sons of dogs" as he urged the Palestinian militant group to release all remaining Israeli hostages.
Making a rare public plea to Hamas, Abbas accused the group of giving Israel "excuses" to continue its devastating assault on Gaza.
"Hamas has given the criminal occupation excuses to commit its crimes in the Gaza Strip, the most prominent being the holding of hostages," Abbas said, lashing out at Hamas for dragging Palestinians into a prolonged war.
Speaking in Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, he added: "I'm the one paying the price, our people are paying the price, not Israel. My brother, just hand them over."
"You sons of dogs, hand over what you have and get us out of this," he asserted, noting, "Every day there are deaths".
Abbas' remarks were met with anger as the Palestinian group Hamas condemned his remarks as "insulting" accusing the Palestinian president of deflecting blame from Israel.
"Abbas repeatedly and suspiciously lays the blame for the crimes of the occupation and its ongoing aggression on our people," said senior Hamas official Bassem Naim.
The war, now in its seventh month, rages on with Israeli airstrikes killing at least 25 people across the besieged Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including 11 in a strike on a school sheltering displaced civilians.
Since Israel resumed its military campaign on March 18 following a failed truce, over 1,900 Palestinians have been killed. The overall Gaza death toll has surpassed 51,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Watch | Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza city kills 23