Xinhua - English

Special report: Internal situation in Palestine

GAZA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian security source denied on Tuesday press reports that Fatah-affiliated troops have entered Gaza Strip to fight against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The denial came in response to reports saying that some 450 Fatah fighters entered Gaza Strip through the Egyptian border to join other militants involved in clashes with Hamas.

"They are members of National Security Forces who finished a few months of training in Egypt and now return to Gaza," the security source said on condition of anonymity.

The reports also said that the closed crossing point was opened suddenly to allow entry for the forces. But the source said the opening was exceptional in order to avoid jam that might happen if the troops enter on an ordinary day of opening.

Meanwhile, death toll for Tuesday's clashes in Gaza rose to 10after the killing of a pro-Fatah officer in an ambush on a Gaza street at noon.

Paramedics said that three others were wounded in the ambush that targeted Captain Yousef Mutair in Gaza City. Earlier, nine security members were killed after their jeeps came under shells.

Fatah spokesman Abdel Hakim Awad accused "Hamas brigades and the Israeli occupation of firing at the jeeps." But Hamas denied any role for its members in the incident that took place near the border crossing with Israel in central Gaza Strip.

Two truces, one brokered by Egypt and the other by Prime Minister Ismail Haneya of Hamas, have failed to calm the tension between rival Fatah and Hamas movements which sparked three days ago.

GAZA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Two Palestinians were killed and more than 10 others wounded as fresh armed clashes between militants of rival Hamas and Fatah movements broke out in Gaza City on Monday morning despite a truce deal reached overnight.

One of the two dead is a bodyguard for Fatah spokesman Maher Meqddad, who accused Hamas gunmen of launching the attack first. He told reporters that members of Hamas military wing attacked his house, killing the bodyguard and another bystander. He added that the militants also set fire his nearby media office. Full story