Eight killed in Hamas ambush

Hamas gunmen ambushed rival Fatah forces today near a key crossing along the Israeli border, killing eight people in the deadliest battle yet in three days of factional fighting.

The incident briefly drew Israeli gunfire, threatening to drag Israel into the conflict.

At least 18 people have died in the infighting, bringing life in Gaza to a standstill and pushing the fragile Palestinian unity government closer to collapse. Hamas and Fatah formed the union in March with the aim of ending months of violence.

The fighting erupted when Hamas gunmen approached a training base used by Fatah forces that guard the crossing, officials said. The base was set up in part by an American security team sent to train Palestinians on how to check cargo and baggage at crossings.

The Hamas force attacked the base with rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, said Ahmed al-Kaisi, spokesman for the pro-Fatah Presidential Guard, which guards the crossing under an agreement with Israel. “We consider this a serious provocation and a crime committed in cold blood,” al-Kaisi said.

When forces from another Fatah security unit raced to the scene to provide back-up, they were ambushed by Hamas gunmen, witnesses said.

A vehicle full of security men that came under fire veered off the road and crashed. Hamas forces then surrounded the vehicle and riddled it with gunfire, said one witness, who works in a nearby factory.

Hospital and security officials said eight men were killed in the ambush. After the incident, several bodies were seen strewn in the grass near the overturned vehicle, as gunmen in pick-up trucks nearby held machine guns in the air.

As the fighting raged, Israeli troops opened fire at two gunmen who approached the border, the army said. Palestinian officials said one man was killed. He was identified as a member of the Presidential Guard, who apparently was trying to help his comrades against Hamas.

Witnesses also said three Israeli tanks approached Karni, and the Hamas force quickly withdrew. Israel also closed the crossing, known as Gaza’s lifeline because it is the passage for cargo going in and out of the area.

Israel has remained silent throughout the latest Palestinian infighting. But the border incident illustrated how fragile the situation is. Israel has been debating whether to take large-scale military action in Gaza in response to repeated rocket fire aimed at southern Israel, but this week officials postponed a decision on whether to act.

In the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for the immediate implementation of a government security plan to halt the internal fighting.