President Abbas disowns Hamas: ‘You don’t represent Palestinian people’
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Hamas' surprise attack on Israel has led to the death of more than 1,400 Israelis. Series of bombing by Israel in Gaza has led to more than 2,500 deaths.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the actions and policies of Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people.
The comments were made in a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, news agency WAFA said.
According to the news outlet, Abbas “affirmed his rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides and called for the release of civilians, prisoners and detainees on both sides”.
Abbas has been president since 2005 and represents the Fatah political party, which has a bitter rivalry with Hamas.
Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel has led to the death of more than 1,400 Israelis. Series of bombing by Israel in Gaza has led to more than 2,500 deaths.
Israeli troops have continue to amass near Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive targeting Hamas militants.
Israel has told 1.1m Palestinians living in the north of Gaza to move south. Hundreds of thousands have done so – doubling the population of the southern city of Khan Younis overnight, BBC reports.
The conditions for people in Gaza are worsening, with water, food, power and medicines in scarce supply. The UN says the Middle East “is on the verge of the abyss” and asks Israel to let humanitarian aid in.
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