Ten Palestinians were wounded early Tuesday in renewed clashes between the Hamas and Fatah factions in downtown Gaza City, witnesses and paramedics say. The clashes erupted after Hamas gunmen arrived at the home of a top Fatah official and opened fire at Fatah activists inside, witnesses said. The Fatah gunmen returned fire and nine were injured in the exchange, including five schoolchildren, hospital officials said. At least one of the wounded was a Hamas gunmen, officials said. No further details were available regarding the identity of the wounded.
According to Hamas officials, bodyguards working for Samir Mashrawi, a top Fatah leader in Gaza, kidnapped three members of the Hamas military wing earlier in the morning and the Hamas gunmen had arrived on the scene to free them. Fatah officials denied the accusations.
Tuesday's clashes follow Monday's events, in which war as three people were killed as gun battles erupted between armed Hamas and Fatah militias in the southern Gaza Strip.
Following the incidents, Palestinian leaders and spokesmen warned of a civil war. The violent clashes were the worst since Hamas formed its new cabinet in March.
They took place only hours after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh failed to settle their differences during a meeting in Gaza City, the second of its kind in 48 hours.
Egyptian security officials who are in the Gaza Strip were trying to mediate on Monday between the two sides, sources close to Abbas said.
Hamas said the clashes began after Fatah gunmen kidnapped three of its men near Khan Yunis. Dozens of Hamas gunmen later surrounded a building where the kidnapped men were being held, but refrained from storming the place to avoid bloodshed, a senior Hamas official told The Jerusalem Post.
He said the Hamas gunmen instead kidnapped four Fatah militiamen to secure the release of the abducted Hamas activists. Following the intervention of clan leaders and notables in the area, both sides agreed to release the hostages, he added.
According to the official, hundreds of Fatah gunmen later went on a shooting spree in the area, targeting the homes of some Hamas members. He said 23-year-old Wasfi Shahwan, a member of Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin Kassam, was shot and killed during the attack.
Following the incident, a fierce gun battle erupted between the two sides and two Fatah gunmen were killed - Muhammed al-Jaraf and Hamadeh Ismail. At least five other people were wounded.
Fatah leaders accused Hamas of initiating the confrontation and accused the Islamic movement's heads of inciting against Fatah. Radwan al-Akhras, a spokesman for Fatah in the Gaza Strip, said recent statements by some Hamas leaders against Fatah had increased tensions and triggered the armed clashes.
He was referring to statements made by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who accused Abbas of conspiring with the US and Israel to bring down the Hamas cabinet.
"These statements have increased tensions and created confusion on the Palestinian street," the Fatah spokesman said. "Fatah wants to conduct a national dialogue with Hamas. But Hamas has responded by using rockets and automatic rifles."
He also lashed out at Hamas for establishing a special security force to assist the PA security forces in the Gaza Strip. "Was this force set up to kill Palestinians?" he asked. "This force does not belong to the government, but to Hamas. It's an illegal force that was responsible for Monday's clashes in Khan Yunis." He said the clashes erupted when members of a Hamas force, manning a checkpoint in the area, kidnapped a Fatah gunman.