The head of the Red Crescent in the UAE has slammed Hamas for their “betrayal” of his organisation during the 2014 Gaza conflict.

According to Secretary-General Mohamed Ateeq Al-Falahi, Red Crescent staff were stationed at a UAE field hospital in the strip during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge when Hamas fighters began firing rockets from the hospital.

Their actions provoked Israel into an attack, which he said sabotaged their attempts to distribute aid.

Speaking in the UAE this week, Mr Al-Falahi revealed that his organisation had asked the Red Cross “to liaise with the Israeli forces so they don’t strike us".

"While we were in the field hospital that the UAE built, we were surprised by – and this is the first that we have announced this – someone from Hamas instigating Israeli forces by launching locally made rockets from the field hospital," he said.

"What hurts is that the betrayal came from our own people."

He added: "This shows (Hamas's) wicked intentions and how they scarified us. They always claim the enemy targets humanitarian envoys, but the betrayal came from them."

In addition, he said that as they were leaving the region Hamas "accused us of being spies, undercover foreign intelligences who were escaping".

He claimed Hamas had informed "extremist militias in Sinai... that there was a group making their way there, so prepare for jihad against them... as we stopped at a grocery store to buy something to eat, they started shooting at us".

"Muslims fighting Muslims, who were giving humanitarian aid to Muslims," he said.