Dec. 22, 2006 2:38 Gunbattles again erupt in Gaza City By ASSOCIATED PRESS GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip

Gunbattles break out between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza City

A brief but ferocious gunbattle between Hamas and Fatah militants broke out in Gaza City early Friday, underscoring the fragility of a two-day-old truce between the rival factions.

The street battle, which encompassed the house of Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas and the Gaza residence of President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, died down after about 20 minutes as Muslim clerics and other mediators worked to restore the cease-fire. Abbas was not in Gaza at the time.

Despite the scale and intensity of the fighting, no one was wounded, health officials said.

The violence started after two Hamas militants, including a senior member of the Islamic group, were kidnapped late Thursday night, security officials said. The kidnappers fired assault rifles, injuring a bystander.

Hamas blamed the kidnapping on a clan affiliated with Fatah that was trying to avenge the killing of two of its members in an earlier round of factional fighting.

That wave of violence, which broke out last week, killed 16 people and left dozens injured across Gaza, before a truce took effect Tuesday night.

But the new violence broke out when Hamas militiamen tried to free the two kidnapped fighters and engaged in a firefight with the Fatah-affiliated militants behind the abductions, Hamas officials said.

In the tense atmosphere pervading Gaza, the fight quickly spread out of control, encompassing the presidential guard outside Abbas' house, other security officers in the area and the Hamas militiamen guarding Zahar's home and the nearby Foreign Ministry building.

Gunmen manning strategic positions on rooftops began shooting at others in the streets.

The presidential guard took up defensive positions behind newly built walls of sandbags and barriers of cement blocs outside Abbas' residence.

Hamas officials said the Fatah gunmen shot at Zahar's home.

One witness estimated that more than 2,000 bullets were fired in the first 10 minutes and several rocket-propelled grenades were also launched.

Residents of the neighborhood, the scene of other gunbattles over the past week, put their children in their bathtubs for protection against stray bullets, residents said. Others tucked themselves in corners for safety.