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Renewed Gaza factional violence Eleven die as Gaza factions clash
(about 4 hours later)
Eight people including at least two civilians have died in new violence in Gaza between the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah. At least 11 people have died in some of the deadliest fighting between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Gaza for months.
Hamas militants besieged the home of a Fatah activist, leading to an exchange of gunfire and casualties. Groups have also seized members of rival factions. Two civilians - one a two-year-old boy - were among those killed, Palestinian medics said.
This followed overnight violence which left a member of each faction dead. The clashes erupted after weeks of relative calm and renewed efforts to form a national unity government.
Fatah has suspended talks due to take place on Friday with Hamas aimed at forming a coalition government. Fatah said it was suspending the negotiations following the violence, which has continued into the night.
"The entire dialogue could explode," Reuters news agency quoted Fatah spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa as saying. "How can dialogue go on when there is a bomb underneath the table?" Both factions also kidnapped members of the opposing side during the day.
More than 30 people have died as a result of factional tensions since mid-December. More than 40 people have died as a result of a power struggle between supporters of the Hamas-led government and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction since mid-December.
The clashes came as Hamas supporters gathered to mark a year since victory in Palestinian elections. Echo of gunfire
Gun battle The BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says there has been intensive mediation by Egyptian diplomats in an effort to stop the bloodshed there.
The violence began overnight when a Hamas member died in what the group said was a roadside bomb attack on a convoy. He says late in the evening word came that Fatah and Hamas had agreed to order their supporters off the streets.
Divisions between the two factions run very deep How can the dialogue go on when there is a bomb underneath the table Tawfiq Abu KhoussaFatah spokesman But our correspondent says both are now accusing the other of not having stuck by the deal and the clashes are continuing.
Hours later, a Fatah member was killed in an attack at his home. Some of the heaviest fighting has taken place in the Jabaliya refugee camp, where Hamas gunmen laid siege to the home of a local Fatah leader.
Hamas militants then surrounded the home of a Fatah official who they blame for one of the killings, triggering a gun battle. The gunmen eventually stormed the building and two people were killed.
A spate of kidnappings has also been reported. As night fell the streets of Gaza continued to echo to the sound of gunfire and explosions.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a Fatah-linked militant group, said it had seized a group of 24 Hamas supporters. Elsewhere, fighting erupted outside the residences of Mr Abbas and Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar.
Over the past couple of weeks Gaza had actually enjoyed a lull in this kind of violence, the BBC's Alan Johnson in Gaza said. Mr Zahar's home was damaged after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, security sources said.
The two factions had been negotiating in an effort to come together and form a new government of national unity, but Fatah has now suspended that dialogue. Fatah said it was calling of national unity talks in response to the violence.
Divisions between the parties are very deep, our correspondent says. "How can the dialogue go on when there is a bomb underneath the table?" Reuters news agency quoted Fatah spokesman Tawfiq Abu Khoussa as saying.
They are fuelled by bitter personal animosities and real differences over how best to confront Israel and its occupation of the Palestinian territories. The violence began overnight when a Hamas member died in what the group said was a roadside bomb attack on a convoy by Fatah militants.
The clashes came as Hamas supporters gathered to mark a year since the party defeated Fatah in Palestinian elections.