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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on April 23 called the Hamas Movement “sons of dogs,” and told the group to release all remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip in order to eliminate Israel’s pretext to continue its war on the enclave.
Hamas is still holding 59 hostages out of over 250 taken to Gaza during the October 7 surprise attack of 2023. At least 24 of the hostages are believed to be still alive. Releasing the hostages remains one of Israel’s main conditions for a ceasefire.
“The first priority is to stop the war of extermination in Gaza. It must be stopped – hundreds are being killed every day,” Abbas said in a speech at the opening of the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council meeting. “Why don’t you hand over the American hostages?”
Addressing Hamas as “sons of dogs,” Abbas said that the group should “release those you’re holding and put an end to this story. Shut down their [Israel’s] excuses. End it.”
He further called on Hamas to cede control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, give up its arms, and become a political party.
“Hamas must hand over Gaza responsibilities and hand over its arms to the responsibility to Palestinian Authority and transform into a political party,” Abbas said.
Hamas has been facing increasing pressure since Israel renewed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar last January. Over 1,900 Palestinians have been killed since then.
On April 22, strikes destroyed some 40 engineering vehicles, which the Israeli military claimed they were used by Hamas for “terror activities”
In a statement, the military said that the heavy equipment was used by Hamas during the October 7 attack to breach the Israeli border barrier in dozens of locations, allowing thousands of fighters to stream into Israel.
The engineering vehicles have also been used by Hamas during the war to plant bombs, dig tunnels, and clear rubble to locate weaponry buried under it, the military added.
“The engineering vehicles that were struck are a major component of Hamas’s ability to carry out terror attacks on IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the military said, noting that the strikes were carried out to “disrupt” Hamas’s heavy equipment capability.
Hamas denounced the strikes, saying in a statement that “the occupation’s destruction of civilian equipment intended to aid and rescue civilians and alleviate their suffering… is a confirmation of the criminal nature of this entity, which is devoid of all moral standards.”
Since renewing its offensive, the Israeli military has occupied around 30% of Gaza’s territories without facing much resistance. Most of the advance was in the south of the Strip, where the military has been working to establish a new security zone between Rafah and the nearby city of Khan Younis known as the Morag Corridor.
In response to increasing pressure, Hamas is reportedly preparing to propose a new ceasefire framework for Gaza with serious concessions.
According to a report released by the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on April 23, the proposal includes the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza in one phase in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza to the positions held under the recent ceasefire deal, a halt to military operations, and the entry of humanitarian aid. Hamas will also demand a five-year ceasefire with international guarantees.
The proposed agreement also includes the establishment of a technocratic committee for civilian governance in the Strip, based on an Egyptian proposal published in recent months, and openness for a reconciliation agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas’ attack on Hamas is well-calculated and meant to increase pressure on the group. The Palestinian Authority apparently sees the recent developments as a chance to reclaim Gaza, which it lost to Hamas after a power struggle in 2007.
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