Hamas neared control of the entire Gaza Strip after a day of battles in the region during which rival Fatah forces were dislodged from key positions.

A fierce gunbattle erupted this morning within the compound of Shifa hospital in Gaza City between the security personnel of Hamas and Fatah.

An Israeli air strike today against a car carrying militants in Gaza City killed nine Palestinians including two schoolchildren.

A failed Israeli airstrike today against a militants' car in Gaza City killed nine Palestinians including two children, Palestinian hospital officials said.

A large explosion went off at a Hamas rally in Jebaliya refugee camp today, killing at least four Palestinians and wounding 56, hospital officials said.

THREE Palestinians, including two children, were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip as troops pressed on with a massive nine-day-old incursion in the north, Palestinian medics and the Israeli army said.

AN Israeli missile strike killed a senior Hamas militant, his wife and three-year-old daughter in the Gaza Strip yesterday amid a surge of bloodletting that has plunged US-led peace efforts into turmoil.