Palestinian sources in Gaza reported on Wednesday evening that a Palestinian gunman affiliated with Islamic Jihad was killed in clashes with Hamas. Some 10 additional Palestinians were wounded in the fighting.
Senior Hamas official Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar and Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi met in Gaza in an attempt to reconcile their two warring factions.
Fierce clashes have been taking place between Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen in Gaza Wednesday afternoon and evening.
On Tuesday, members of Hamas' task force tried to arrest a Palestinian man who fired in the air during a wedding in the Sajaiya neighborhood in Gaza City. The man fled to the house of an Islamic Jihad senior member and hid there, but was chased by Hamas members who encircled the house and demanded that he turn himself in.
Both groups began calling in forces, and only the intervention of public figures prevented a clash from erupting.
However, on Wednesday members of Hamas retuned to the place, started taking pictures of the house and arrested the bodyguard of one of the Jihad's senior leaders, Sheikh Nafez Azzam.
After Hams tried to kidnap a second Jihad member, fire exchanges erupted between the two sides. Four Jihad members and a bystander have been wounded so far, according to witnesses.
Tensions between the groups have been running high throughout the recent week, in light of Hamas efforts to prevent the Islamic Jihad from firing rockets toward Israel and planting explosive devices against the IDF. Jihad members accused Hamas of persecuting them and interfering in their actions against Israel.
First published: 22:11, 08.01.7