A senior Palestinian Authority official has condemned Hamas for hiding behind Gaza’s civilian population to save itself, provoking fury from the Islamist group.

Munir al-Jaghoub, who is reportedly head of the media office in Fatah’s Movement’s Mobilization and Organization Commission, told the Saudi al-Arabiya outlet: “If Hamas wanted to fight face-to-face with Israel, it would’ve done so in areas where the army is located, and not in places where there are people. Hamas is actually hiding between the residents to protect and save itself.”

The comment caused uproar with Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha calling on Fatah, of which al-Jaghoub is a member, to denounce his remarks. “You must cease promoting the false narrative of Israel and align with our people in their decisive and steadfast battle against barbaric attacks,” Taha said, according to Palestinian media.

Sami Abu Zuhri, another senior Hamas official, echoing the disapproval, told Reuters that the PA had “chosen to be in the same trench with the occupation”.

Basem Naim, another senior Hamas representative, said Abbas’s comments made him a “partner to the Zionist enemy and its crimes not only in Gaza, but also in all of the Palestinian land.”

Defying the criticism, PA President Mahmoud Abbas placed blame on Hamas for the ongoing war in the Gaza strip, calling it a “partner in bearing legal, moral and political responsibility for the continuation of the Israeli war of genocide in the Gaza Strip,” which evades pursuing “national unity” and instead provides “free pretexts to the occupying state”.

Abbas did condemn Israel and the US for their role in the war, saying he “holds the Israeli government fully responsible, also the US administration that provides all kinds of support to the occupation and its crimes”.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas holds a joint press conference, July 25, 2023 (Credit: ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The Palestinian Information Centre, a Hamas-affiliated Palestinian news website, has reported that the PA did move to condemn al-Jaghoub’s criticism of Hamas and that he retracted and apologised for his comments.

The public spat has signalled rising tensions between Abbas’s Fatah party and the Islamist terror group. It came just hours after the IDF carried out airstrikes in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis in order to kill Hamas military chief Mohammad Deif and his aide.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, the strikes left at least 90 Palestinians dead and 300 injured, while the IDF said the strike targeted a Hamas compound where “dozens” of armed Hamas members had gathered.

It remains unclear whether Deif was killed in the strike, but the IDF on Sunday confirmed the death of his deputy, Rafa’a Salameh.

Hamas, which nine months ago massacred upwards of 1,200 people and seized around 250 hostages in a suprise attack on Israel, has been in full control of Gaza since a violent civil war with Fatah and Abbas loyalists in 2007.