Nine killed in fierce Gaza gun battles

GAZA, May 16 (Reuters) Hamas gunmen stormed the home of President Mahmoud Abbas's top security chief in Gaza and at least nine people were killed in fierce factional fighting today that pushed Palestinians closer to all-out civil war.

The raid on the home of Rashid Abu Shbak, one of the most powerful Fatah leaders, came shortly after mortars struck near Abbas's Gaza office and gunmen attacked a Hamas position outside the Interior Ministry building.

Palestinian officials said the widening hostilities could bring down a two-month-old unity government formed between ruling Hamas Islamists and Abbas's secular Fatah faction.

Fatah official said Abbas may declare a state of emergency, a move that could allow him to rule by decree for a limited period of time.

Terrified Gaza residents hid indoors as masked gunmen fought running battles street-to-street. Witnesses said militants were grabbing some civilians out of their cars to hold as hostages.

In one panicked call to a local radio station, a woman appealed to Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to act. ''Do not leave us to die here,'' she pleaded.

The rising death toll today included four Fatah security guards at Abu Shbak's home, a member of Abbas's elite Presidential Guard and two member of the pro-Fatah Preventive Security service.

Hamas said Fatah gunmen ''executed'' one of its members today. At least 16 Palestinians were killed yesterday, including two Hamas fighters.

Since the start of fighting on Friday, at least 34 Gazans have been killed and more than 100 have been injured, including a female nurse who was seriously injured today when the ambulance she was riding in got caught in the crossfire.

Abu Qusai, a spokesman for Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militant group, accused Hamas political leaders of ordering the attacks and called on Fatah ministers to resign.

Their resignation could, under Palestinian law, end the government if independents followed suit. ''If the situation continues in this manner, then the government will collapse,'' Labour Minister Mahmoud al-Aloul of Fatah told Reuters.

Hamas blamed Fatah for the escalating violence, saying the attack on Abu Shbak's house came after his security guards opened fire on a passing Hamas patrol. Abu Shbak was apparently not at home at the time of the attack.

During today's fighting, gunmen also pounded the main headquarters of the Fatah-dominated Preventive Security service.

Hours earlier, gunmen shot and wounded an Egyptian official as he attempted to monitor the latest short-lived truce, called by Haniyeh at the end of the worst day of bloodshed in months.

UNRESOLVED DIFFERENCES For many Palestinians, the fighting came as little surprise. The Saudi-brokered unity government deal failed to resolve the crucial issue of control over security forces, and left armed groups fighting deadly turf wars.

Fatah's forces are larger in number. But many analysts believe Hamas's Executive Force and armed wing are better equipped and organised.

In yesterday's key battle, Hamas gunmen killed eight members of Abbas's Presidential Guard in an attack near Gaza's Karni commercial crossing with Israel, the strip's economic lifeline.

The US administration has earmarked tens of millions of dollars to provide training and non-lethal equipment to Abbas's presidential guard and to bolster security at Karni.

In an attempt to shift the focus of fighting towards Israel, Hamas militants in Gaza fired makeshift rockets at the nearby Israeli town of Sderot, where schools were closed for the day.

No injuries were reported in Sderot today. Four were injured by rocket fire yesterday. The Israeli military responded by sending helicopters to fire into uninhabited areas of northern Gaza, a spokeswoman said.

REUTERS ABM KN1540