Palestinian President Charges Coup Attempt

Heavy gun battles erupted in several locations in Gaza Tuesday.

Some 200 Hamas fighters surrounded the headquarters of Fatah-allied forces in northern Gaza, a key prize for Hamas. The attackers fired mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades at the compound, where some 500 security officers were holed up.

"They are attacking from all sides," said one of the officers, Khaled Awad.

Hamas gunmen also exchanged fire with Fatah forces at the southern security headquarters, in the town of Khan Younis, but had not yet launched a major assault. The town's streets were empty as people huddled indoors for shelter.

Col. Nasser Khaldi, a Fatah commander in southern Gaza, confirmed his men were on the defensive. Khaldi said Abbas, the leader of Fatah, must give orders now to fight back.

"There is a weakness of our leaders," he said. "Hamas is just taking over our positions. There are no orders."

Heavy gunfire was heard throughout Gaza City, sending huge plumes of white smoke into the air.

One fierce battle took place around the headquarters of the Preventive Security agency — a powerful pro-Fatah force. Mortars and explosives were fired at the building and at one point a mortar landed at the doorstep of the building. There were no injuries and Preventive security officials said their men on in watchtowers were responding.

With masked gunmen posted on street corners and rooftops, Gaza City's streets were all but deserted. Gunmen at makeshift roadblocks stopped the few cars on the streets for inspection.

In another clash, pro-Fatah security forces attacked the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV and radio stations in Gaza City. The TV station played pro-Fatah songs, a sign that security forces had taken control.

But later, the TV station said it had thwarted the attack, and showed pictures of what it said were Hamas gunmen surrounding captured security vehicles. Witnesses said gunfights were continuing.

"Al Aqsa is still shining," the radio station reported.

Hamas and Fatah have been locked in a violent power struggle since Hamas defeated Fatah in January 2006 legislative elections, ending four decades of Fatah rule.

The sides agreed to share power in an uneasy coalition three months ago, but put off key disputes, including wrangling over control of the security forces. Most of the forces are dominated by Fatah loyalists, while Hamas has formed its own militia, in addition to the thousands of gunmen at its command.

In all, 18 Palestinians have been killed, including six Tuesday, in two days in the latest spike of violence, which has grown increasingly brutal. Some people were shot at close range in street executions, others in shootouts that turned hospitals into battle grounds, while others were thrown from rooftops. Residents huddled indoors, and university exams were canceled.

More than 80 people have been killed since mid-May, most of them militants.

The head of the Egyptian mediation team, Lt. Col. Burhan Hamad, said neither side responded to his call to hold truce talks Tuesday. "It seems they don't want to come, we must make them ashamed of themselves. They have killed all hope. They have killed the future," said Hamad, who brokered several previous short-lived cease-fires.

Hamad said both sides were about equal in firepower. "Neither can have a decisive victory," he said. "To be decisive, they need weapons that neither side has."

On Tuesday morning, a gun battle erupted at the European Hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. Hamas gunmen controlling the rooftop traded fire with Fatah-allied security forces posted nearby. Fifteen children attending a kindergarten in the line of fire were rushed into the main building of the hospital, funded largely by European donations.

Earlier in the day, a rocket-propelled grenade hit Haniyeh's home in the Shati refugee camp on the outskirts of Gaza City. His son, Abdel Salam, said a grenade hit the side of the house, damaging it, while the family was inside.

A Hamas Web site described the incident as an assassination attempt by Fatah. "They crossed all the red lines," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.

Elsewhere, a member of the Hamas military wing was kidnapped and executed by Fatah gunmen. The dead man was identified as a cousin of Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader Israel assassinated in 2004.

Separately, Hamas gunmen attacked the home of a senior Fatah security official with mortars and grenades, killing his 14-year-old son and three women in the house, security officials said. Other Fatah gunmen stormed the house of a Hamas lawmaker and burned it to the ground.

The fighting also spilled into the West Bank, with Palestinian security forces seizing two employees of the Hamas-linked Al Aqsa TV station in the city of Ramallah and confiscating equipment. Fatah gunmen said Hamas leaders in the West Bank, a Fatah stronghold, would be targeted if Hamas doesn't halt its attacks in Gaza.

The latest fighting disrupted final exams for university and high school students. The three Gaza universities called off final exams set for Tuesday. High schools were trying to move test centers to areas out of the range of fire, said Mohammed Abu Shkeir, the deputy minister of education.