Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire in Gaza Strip on Monday for a fifth day after Fatah and Hamas accepted a Saudi offer of urgent talks in the holy city Mecca to try to end the current crisis.
At least five Palestinians were killed on Monday, medical officials said. The death raised to 32 the number of people killed since Thursday in firefights between the two sides. According to Reuters, gunmen also blew up a Fatah office and the home of an official from Fatah, while the headquarters of the Fatah-dominated Preventive Security service in Gaza City was attacked by mortars.
Hamas activists also abducted two Fatah members, including a local commander, Fatah officials said.
The ongoing violence has prompted some families to evacuate homes near the scenes of gun battles. In addition, many parents have been keeping their children inside and away from windows.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas described the clashes as "tragic" and insisted that he would not allow the territories to disintegrate into civil war. "These tragic events and internal killings stem mainly from the existence of numerous authorities," said Abbas, according to AFP. "We will not allow any civil war as Palestinian blood is sacred," he added in a keynote speech at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.
