Report: Blast rocks area near Haniyeh's house

Witnesses report explosion ripped through Shati refugee camp near Palestinian prime minister's house; no casualties reported
Associated Press

An explosion ripped through the Shati refugee camp near Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's house after nightfall Monday, witnesses said.

There was no immediate word of casualties.

Rival Factions Talk

Fatah officials meet Mashaal in Damascus / Ali Waked

Ynet learns that talks on national unity government continued in recent days in between Fatah delegation, Hamas. Palestinian source says progress has been made on controversial issues

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Haniyeh's Hamas and rival Fatah forces have been fighting for several months. In another incident around the same time, security officials said Hamas militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a police station near Haniyeh's office in Gaza City.

Three Palestinians believed to be Hamas operatives and a Fatah member of the Palestinian security forces were killed Sunday night in seperate clashes, bringing the death toll to 30 since violent confrontations erupted between the two rival factions in the Gaza Strip last Thursday.

The Fatah man, identified as Mohammad Afandi, was killed in Gaza City on Monday morning.

Sparse gun battles were reported across the tiny coastal strip overnight as the standoff between the governing Hamas faction and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party took a turn for the worst.