GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -
Gunmen from the rival Hamas and Fatah Palestinian movements battled in the Gaza Strip for a third straight day Saturday.
They fired mortars and grenades in clashes that killed six people, including a two-year-old boy, in the increasingly bloody power struggle over the Palestinian government.
The deaths brought to 24 the number of Palestinians killed since Thursday, with at least 68 people wounded and efforts to forge a coalition government at a standstill.
The latest fighting, which started late Thursday after a Hamas activist was killed in a bombing, has been among the deadliest in nearly two months of clashes.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah both issued appeals for calm. But after a brief lull, fighting flared up again.
Late Saturday night, a two-year-old boy was killed and two others wounded in the northern Gaza Strip during a shootout between Hamas and Fatah gunmen, witnesses and hospital officials said.
Two men were also killed in a car explosion north of Gaza City, Palestinian security officials said. The identity of the men was not immediately known. Also Saturday, a Fatah operative died of wounds sustained a day earlier.
Earlier Saturday, one man was killed in a gunbattle near Gaza's Islamic University, hospital officials said. In a firefight elsewhere in the city, a Palestinian policeman was killed.
The violence has been fuelled by Abbas's pledge to call early elections if the unity talks between Hamas and Fatah fail. Abbas, who is travelling in Europe, said this week he would move forward with his election plan if the coalition talks don't produce results within three weeks.
Hamas, which defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections last year, opposes a new vote.
Streets in the hardest-hit neighbourhoods were deserted Saturday and only bakeries and groceries opened for business. Gaza City's main outdoor market was closed. Al Azhar University called off exams scheduled for Saturday and the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, which oversees several security forces, told its employees to go home.
Before dawn Saturday, Hamas gunmen fired mortars at the Abbas-allied Preventive Security Service headquarters and at the home of the force's chief, officials said. The rocket fire renewed late Saturday night, as gunbattles raged in the streets once again.
In fighting around the compound Friday, six Hamas gunmen were killed and a seventh died Saturday of wounds sustained in that battle, said Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha.
He accused Fatah loyalists of storming a mosque near the security headquarters and executing a senior Hamas activist inside while he was reading the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book. On Saturday, blood stains were still visible on the mosque's carpet and the bathroom tiles.
Interior Minister Said Siyam of Hamas promised retribution for the mosque attack.
"Those who participated in the killing...will be pursued and they are known,'' he said.
Siyam also warned Abbas against mobilizing pro-Fatah security forces, warning it would lead to further violence.
"People don't need more militarization and heavy weaponry.''
Fatah denied it had stormed the mosque but said Hamas gunmen had used the mosque as a base for attacking the security headquarters.
At another Gaza City mosque, Hamas activists hung posters with photos of Hamas supporters killed or wounded in the fighting.
"This is the act of the insurgents. These are the criminal activities of the pro-Zionist, American criminals,'' the caption read, in reference to Fatah.
Mediators from two small factions, meanwhile, tried to win the release of hostages taken by the two sides. Late Saturday, seven Hamas activists and four Fatah members were freed in the southern town Khan Younis, officials said.
Kidnappings have become a common tactic during the infighting. In all cases so far, hostages have been released unharmed. As of late Saturday, roughly a dozen people on each side remained in captivity, officials said.
Tensions have been high since Hamas swept elections in January 2006, ending four decades of Fatah rule. Those tensions have frequently erupted into violence, killing some 50 people in Gaza since early December.
In its election campaign, Hamas promised to root out corruption and improve social services. But the Hamas-led government has been paralyzed by an international boycott and accomplished little on its agenda.
Israel and western donors have cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to the Palestinian government, demanding Hamas renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas has rejected the conditions, despite deepening poverty on the West Bank of The Jordan River and Gaza caused by the sanctions.
Seeking a way out of the crisis, Abbas has called on Hamas to join Fatah in a coalition government. Abbas, who was elected separately, hopes a moderate platform will result in the sanctions being lifted and allow him to restart peace talks with Israel.
Abbas has threatened to order early elections but Hamas has said it would boycott a new vote. Abbas's threat to call new elections, along with the deadlock in unity talks, has fuelled the factional violence.
Both Fatah and Hamas officials said late Friday unity talks would be suspended until the fighting ends. Both sides blamed each other for the breakdown.
