Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas-led cabinet on Saturday condemned three Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, in which 14 Palestinians were killed.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman of Abbas, told reporters that Abbas decided to send an urgent letter to the UN Security Council, asking for a special session to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip.

"This obvious Israeli escalation on the Palestinians is very dangerous to the peace process and the situation on the ground is getting worse," Abu Rudeineh said.

Meanwhile, Ghazi Hammad, spokesman of the Hamas-led cabinet, condemned the airstrikes, saying "the cabinet is sending a message to the world that Israel pretends to be democratic and to respect human rights."

Source: Xinhua