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| Israel launches Gaza air strikes | Israel launches Gaza air strikes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Israel's aircraft have struck a number of targets in Gaza after it vowed a severe response to rocket attacks on its soil. | |
| A Hamas commander died in an attack on a car and another militant was killed in a housing unit, both in Gaza City. | |
| A raid on a Hamas office also killed one person and injured at least 45. | |
| The attacks came as efforts to end five days of fighting between rivals Hamas and Fatah again appeared to fail. At least 40 people have now died. | |
| Trip cancelled | |
| Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads Fatah, suddenly called off a trip to Gaza that had been billed as an effort to shore up the fourth Hamas-Fatah ceasefire in five days. | Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads Fatah, suddenly called off a trip to Gaza that had been billed as an effort to shore up the fourth Hamas-Fatah ceasefire in five days. |
| Officials said he might now travel from Ramallah in the West Bank on Friday. | Officials said he might now travel from Ramallah in the West Bank on Friday. |
| HAVE YOUR SAY How can Palestinians unite when the West and Israel will only support one side Angs, New York class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=6316&edition=1">Send us your comments class="" href="/1/hi/talking_point/6662079.stm">Residents' voices class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/6662577.stm">In pictures: Gaza clashes | |
| The BBC's Magdi Abdelhadi says control of the security forces appears to have been the trigger for the latest factional fighting but that it has now developed a momentum of its own. | |
| Armed supporters on the ground may no longer be paying attention to orders from their political leadership, he adds. | |
| Other correspondents say the rocket attacks appear to be an attempt to draw Israel into an internal Palestinian conflict. | |
| Series of strikes | |
| An Israeli air strike destroyed the second floor of a two-storey building belonging to the Executive Force, a militia force with the task of maintaining security in Gaza. | |
| Hamas's armed wing threatened to renew suicide bombings in Israel after the strike. | |
| A second Israeli air attack targeted a car carrying militants in Gaza City, Israel's military said. A Hamas official told Associated Press news agency one senior commander was killed and another wounded. | |
| Israel also confirmed a third strike. Local sources said one Hamas militant was killed in an attack on a housing unit for security guards of a senior Hamas official. | Israel also confirmed a third strike. Local sources said one Hamas militant was killed in an attack on a housing unit for security guards of a senior Hamas official. |
| Media outrage at infighting Rivals: Fatah and Hamas Unrest gains momentum | |
| Earlier Israeli tanks moved a few metres into the eastern Gaza Strip, although military officials said there were no plans for a ground attack. | Earlier Israeli tanks moved a few metres into the eastern Gaza Strip, although military officials said there were no plans for a ground attack. |
| On Wednesday, Israeli air strikes on Hamas facilities in Gaza killed five people. | |
| Palestinian militants later fired a further salvo at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, causing a brief blackout when an electricity transformer was hit. | |
| On Thursday morning, gun battles broke out in the southern Gaza town of Rafah during a funeral march for a slain Hamas man. | |
| Witnesses said militants were firing their weapons into the air - a common practice at Palestinian funerals - when they were fired upon. A pro-Fatah gunman was said to have been killed in the ensuing battle. | Witnesses said militants were firing their weapons into the air - a common practice at Palestinian funerals - when they were fired upon. A pro-Fatah gunman was said to have been killed in the ensuing battle. |
| 'Shameful' | |
| Fighting between Mr Abbas's Fatah and the Islamist Hamas threatens a hard-won unity government they formed in March. | |
| Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti - one of the Palestinian cabinet's independent members - described the violence as shameful. | Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti - one of the Palestinian cabinet's independent members - described the violence as shameful. |
| "They keep making agreements, and then they violate it within minutes," he told the BBC. | "They keep making agreements, and then they violate it within minutes," he told the BBC. |
| "When we formed the national unity government, it was formed specifically to prevent internal fighting, and to open the road of protecting democracy." | "When we formed the national unity government, it was formed specifically to prevent internal fighting, and to open the road of protecting democracy." |
| Are you in Gaza? Have you been caught up in the latest violence? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below: | Are you in Gaza? Have you been caught up in the latest violence? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below: |