Hamas pushed an offensive against Fatah yesterday after assuming control over northern Gaza in vicious battles that left the government teetering and the territory on the verge of civil war.
A huge blast levelled the headquarters of the pro-Fatah preventive security force in southern Gaza yesterday. The building in Khan Yunis was "totally destroyed" after a bomb exploded in a tunnel underneath, said the chief of the force, Yussef Eissa, blaming Hamas for the attack.
At least three people died, medics said.
Hamas denied it had placed explosives in a tunnel.
Earlier in the day, dozens of Hamas fighters fired mortars and rockets into the headquarters of the pro-Fatah intelligence services in western Gaza City, facing stiff resistance from the men holed up inside, witnesses and security sources said.
Seven people died in the fighting around the building, while a boy was mowed down in the crossfire in clashes elsewhere in the city, and two people died in fighting near Khan Younis, medics said.
Hamas took control over the north of the Gaza Strip late on Tuesday after a vicious battle around a Fatah base in the town of Jabaliya that fell to the Islamists late in the night, along with several other smaller positions.
The Islamist movement's armed wing claimed in a statement that it was controlling "most of the positions" of secular Fatah in Gaza City and that numerous Fatah men had surrendered. Fatah had no immediate comment.
More than 50 people, including civilians, have been killed in three days of vicious gunbattles between the bitter rivals, separated by ideology and locked in a steadily escalating struggle for power.
The US-based Human Rights Watch accused both sides of committing war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law during their battles, which have turned hospitals into battlegrounds amid ever-rising levels of animosity between the two camps.
The violence has threatened to topple the Palestinian Cabinet and torpedo international efforts to revive dormant peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
Also see story:
Peres elected president of Israel
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS