Hundreds of Palestinians took to what's left of the streets of Beit Lahia to protest against Israel and Hamas [Getty]
The Fatah-run Palestinian Authority (PA) has called on Hamas to respond to the demands of protesters in the Gaza Strip who are calling for the group to abandon its control over the territory.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the PA said that Hamas had to stop aligning itself with "foreign agendas" and to "prioritise the interests of the Palestinian people", in a reference to alleged Iranian support for the group.
The PA's comments come after hundreds of Palestinians in the devastated enclave took to the streets last week to hold protest against both Israel and Hamas.
The protesters demanded an immediate end to the war that has devastated their lives, as well as calling for an end to Hamas's political rule, a rare public challenge to the movement that has controlled Gaza since 2007.
The protests first erupted on Tuesday in the town of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip and quickly spread to other governorates, reflecting deep-seated frustration over the ongoing violence and the deterioration of humanitarian conditions.
The PA, which has political control in the occupied West Bank, has also faced protests against its authoritarian rule and what many Palestinians consider its lack of action against Israel in the face of both the war on Gaza and its growing aggression in the West Bank.
The Fatah-led authority also firmly rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on Wednesday regarding the establishment of what he called the "Morag Axis" to separate Rafah from Khan Younis and divide the southern part of Gaza.
The PA said it considered this declaration a genuine indicator of Israeli intentions to perpetuate a permanent occupation and division of the Palestinian territory. They further stressed the need for the international community to end the war on Gaza and stop Israel from occupying and grabbing Palestinian land.
Netanyahu said in a video message that Israel would seize an area he called the "Morag Axis", a reference to a former Israeli settlement previously located in the area between Rafah and Khan Younis in a bid to put "pressure" on Hamas.
"We are now dividing the Strip and we are increasing pressure step by step so they will give us our hostages," Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, said.
Israel refuses to move to phase two of a previously agreed ceasefire that would see all Israeli hostages released by Hamas.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 50, 523 people, with tens of thousands of uncounted victims believed to be trapped under rubble.