By Sarah El Deeb
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - An Israeli helicopter launched missiles at a Hamas command centre in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least four people, after Hamas fired rocket barrages into Israel in an apparent attempt to draw it into the Palestinian in-fighting.
Israeli aircraft later attacked a car carrying a group of Hamas militants, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli army was investigating the claim.
Meanwhile, Hamas gunmen fatally shot six guards from the rival Fatah movement and mistakenly ambushed a jeep carrying their own fighters, killing five. In all, 16 Palestinians were killed in Palestinian in-fighting Wednesday - the bloodiest day since violence broke out in the Gaza Strip four days ago.
The streets of central Gaza City echoed with gunfire and were empty except for gunmen in black ski masks. Residents stayed home from school and work, huddling in dark homes after electricity to some neighbourhoods was cut off by a downed power line.
In four days of fighting, a least 41 people have been killed and dozens more injured. Most of the dead have been from Fatah. The violence threatened to bring down the Palestinians' two-month-old unity government - and brought the Palestinians dangerously close to all-out civil war.
Despite Israel's vow to stay out of the fray, its missile strikes added another layer of complexity to Gaza's mayhem, and raised the spectre of a large-scale Israeli invasion.
"What is happening in Gaza endangers not only the unity government, but the Palestinian social fabric, the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian strategy as a whole," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Hamas announced Wednesday it would begin observing a unilateral ceasefire to stop the violence. Ceasefires were also announced on Monday and Tuesday, but neither held.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, was expected to meet with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Gaza on Thursday to discuss the situation.
Police from the Fatah-allied Preventive Security organization arrested five Hamas men and were driving them through Gaza City when the vehicle was ambushed by Hamas fighters, Preventive Security officials said. The five Hamas men were killed, along with two Fatah men.
Hamas radio reported that a Hamas man was killed in a separate clash, and a nurse in an ambulance was shot in the head after being caught in the crossfire. Her family said she was brain-dead and on a respirator.
In another incident, Hamas gunmen set fire to an 11-storey apartment building housing Fatah legislator Nema Sheik Ali, wife of the head of Preventive Security. Witnesses said the gunmen broke into her apartment and struck her and two of her children with their weapons. One of the children is 14; the age of the other wasn't immediately known.
A group of about 200 Palestinians marched in central Gaza City, waving Palestinian flags and demanding an end to the fighting. Dozens of masked gunmen used the cover of the demonstration to improve their positions on the street, then opened fire on the demonstrators, wounding one in the leg. The rest fled.
Earlier Wednesday, Hamas gunmen fired mortars and pipe bombs at the home of Fatah security chief Rashid Abu Shbak before storming it and killing six bodyguards. Abu Shbak and his family were not home at the time.
Abdel Hakim Awad, a Fatah spokesman, accused Hamas' leadership of the attack, charging that the Islamist group "wanted to turn Gaza into a new Somalia or Darfur."
Fighting also raged close to President Mahmoud Abbas's heavily guarded compound, which was also targeted by Hamas mortar fire overnight, and the bodies of two Fatah gunmen were sprawled on the street nearby. Abbas, a moderate from Fatah, was not present.
Hamas officials said the organization's men launched eight rockets at Israel, following a barrage of around 20 rockets Tuesday. That salvo at the Israeli town of Sderot, just outside Gaza, wounded five Israelis, one seriously
There were no casualties Wednesday, but school was cancelled in Sderot and residents huddled in bomb shelters.
Hamas said its rockets were retaliation for Israeli violence, but more likely it was an attempt to draw Israel into the fighting as a way of uniting the Palestinians against a common foe.
Before Wednesday's rocket attacks, Israel launched an air strike at the Hamas military building in the southern town of Rafah. Medics said four Hamas gunmen were killed and 30 were wounded. In a rare display of unity, Hamas and Fatah men worked together to evacuate the casualties.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - An Israeli helicopter launched missiles at a Hamas command centre in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least four people, after Hamas fired rocket barrages into Israel in an apparent attempt to draw it into the Palestinian in-fighting.
Israeli aircraft later attacked a car carrying a group of Hamas militants, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli army was investigating the claim.
Meanwhile, Hamas gunmen fatally shot six guards from the rival Fatah movement and mistakenly ambushed a jeep carrying their own fighters, killing five. In all, 16 Palestinians were killed in Palestinian in-fighting Wednesday - the bloodiest day since violence broke out in the Gaza Strip four days ago.
The streets of central Gaza City echoed with gunfire and were empty except for gunmen in black ski masks. Residents stayed home from school and work, huddling in dark homes after electricity to some neighbourhoods was cut off by a downed power line.
In four days of fighting, a least 41 people have been killed and dozens more injured. Most of the dead have been from Fatah. The violence threatened to bring down the Palestinians' two-month-old unity government - and brought the Palestinians dangerously close to all-out civil war.
Despite Israel's vow to stay out of the fray, its missile strikes added another layer of complexity to Gaza's mayhem, and raised the spectre of a large-scale Israeli invasion.
"What is happening in Gaza endangers not only the unity government, but the Palestinian social fabric, the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian strategy as a whole," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Hamas announced Wednesday it would begin observing a unilateral ceasefire to stop the violence. Ceasefires were also announced on Monday and Tuesday, but neither held.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, was expected to meet with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in Gaza on Thursday to discuss the situation.
Police from the Fatah-allied Preventive Security organization arrested five Hamas men and were driving them through Gaza City when the vehicle was ambushed by Hamas fighters, Preventive Security officials said. The five Hamas men were killed, along with two Fatah men.
Hamas radio reported that a Hamas man was killed in a separate clash, and a nurse in an ambulance was shot in the head after being caught in the crossfire. Her family said she was brain-dead and on a respirator.
In another incident, Hamas gunmen set fire to an 11-storey apartment building housing Fatah legislator Nema Sheik Ali, wife of the head of Preventive Security. Witnesses said the gunmen broke into her apartment and struck her and two of her children with their weapons. One of the children is 14; the age of the other wasn't immediately known.
A group of about 200 Palestinians marched in central Gaza City, waving Palestinian flags and demanding an end to the fighting. Dozens of masked gunmen used the cover of the demonstration to improve their positions on the street, then opened fire on the demonstrators, wounding one in the leg. The rest fled.
Earlier Wednesday, Hamas gunmen fired mortars and pipe bombs at the home of Fatah security chief Rashid Abu Shbak before storming it and killing six bodyguards. Abu Shbak and his family were not home at the time.
Abdel Hakim Awad, a Fatah spokesman, accused Hamas' leadership of the attack, charging that the Islamist group "wanted to turn Gaza into a new Somalia or Darfur."
Fighting also raged close to President Mahmoud Abbas's heavily guarded compound, which was also targeted by Hamas mortar fire overnight, and the bodies of two Fatah gunmen were sprawled on the street nearby. Abbas, a moderate from Fatah, was not present.
Hamas officials said the organization's men launched eight rockets at Israel, following a barrage of around 20 rockets Tuesday. That salvo at the Israeli town of Sderot, just outside Gaza, wounded five Israelis, one seriously
There were no casualties Wednesday, but school was cancelled in Sderot and residents huddled in bomb shelters.
Hamas said its rockets were retaliation for Israeli violence, but more likely it was an attempt to draw Israel into the fighting as a way of uniting the Palestinians against a common foe.
Before Wednesday's rocket attacks, Israel launched an air strike at the Hamas military building in the southern town of Rafah. Medics said four Hamas gunmen were killed and 30 were wounded. In a rare display of unity, Hamas and Fatah men worked together to evacuate the casualties.
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