Israel Abbas calls on Hamas to release hostages
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas to release the hostages.
23.04.2025, 15:43
SDA
At a meeting in Ramallah, Abbas said that the first priority was to end the war in Gaza. The President called Hamas "sons of dogs" and demanded: "Hand over those you are holding and end this situation." Israel must not be given any excuses to continue the war, he continued. Hundreds of Palestinians are killed every day in the Gaza war.
According to Israeli information, 24 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, as well as the bodies of 35 kidnapped people. Israel wants to increase the pressure on Hamas with new attacks in the coastal strip so that it agrees to release more hostages.
Abbas wants to take control of Gaza
Abbas also demanded that Hamas should hand over control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. However, Hamas and other extremist groups have so far strictly refused to lay down their arms. Israel rejects Hamas' participation in a future government in the Gaza Strip.
After Hamas won the last parliamentary elections in 2006, it seized control of the Gaza Strip by force a year later and expelled the more moderate Fatah. Since then, Abbas, who heads both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah, has de facto only ruled the West Bank. Reconciliation talks between the two Palestinian organizations have been ongoing for years, but so far without any significant progress.
