Abu Shback was not home. Hamas troops, wearing ski masks to prevent
identification, also shelled PSA headquarters near Gaza City.
Hours later, Hamas fighters ambushed a PSA that contained their detained
colleagues. Five Hamas detainees and two PSA security officers were killed.
On Tuesday, PG forces fled a Hamas assault near the Karni terminal east
of the Gaza border with Israel. At least nine PG officers were killed when
their training base was attacked by the Executive Force, the Hamas unit
nominally under the control of the Interior Ministry.
So far, around 40 people have been killed since May 13 in the latest
round of the Fatah-Hamas war. Almost all of the militia casualties have been
comprised Fatah fighters.
Security sources said Hamas has been attacking training bases and other
facilities of the PG and NSF. Hamas units have employed missiles, mortars
and rocket-propelled grenades.
"We consider this a serious provocation and a crime committed in cold
blood," PG spokesman Ahmed Kaisi said.
The Hamas attacks have been well-executed. Some of the units assaulted a
U.S.-financed PG base while other Hamas fighters blocked roads to prevent
Fatah reinforcements.
In one case, an NSF patrol sought to rescue the PG officers from a Hamas
attack. An NSF jeep was struck by Hamas gunfire and all five officers were
killed.
"They [Hamas] blocked a vehicle of the Palestinian National Security
Forces near the evacuated Israeli settlement of Netsarim, forced them out of
the vehicle and liquidated them on the spot by shooting them in their
heads," an NSF statement said.
Hamas has reported the death of a military commander, Ibrahim Maniya,
who operated in Gaza City. Hamas said Maniya was shot dead by PG officers as
he drove past the force's outpost east of Gaza City on late May 14.
On Wednesday, about 500 freshly-trained PG troops took up positions in
central Gaza near the coast in what could mark an offensive against Hamas.
The PG officers returned from an eight-week training course in Egypt.
Egypt has been meeting Fatah and Hamas in an attempt to impose a
ceasefire. But on late Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen fired toward an Egyptian
security convoy near Gaza City and an Egyptian officer was injured.
Palestinian sources said U.S. security envoy Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton has
been in constant contact with Abbas and his security chief Mohammed Dahlan.
The sources said Abbas has asserted that his forces continue to be outgunned
by Hamas units and require additional weapons.
For its part, Fatah has called for volunteers in the northern Gaza Strip
to prevent a debacle. On Wednesday, Abbas met the Fatah leadership to
determine the movement's strategy.
"The president may declare a state of emergency, and we need such a
step," Deputy Prime Minister Azzam Ahmad said. "We, the ministers, urged the
president during our meeting today to take serious decisions to deal with
the crisis."
