KWAME HOLMAN:
The sounds of small-arms fire often clashed with the Muslim call to prayer, as violence intensified across the Gaza Strip today. Groups of gunmen loyal to two rival factions engaged in open battles across the 130-square-mile stretch of coastal land that is home to more than a million Palestinians.
Even a peace rally was not immune to warfare today. A gathering of 1,000 Palestinians scattered when gunmen opened fire during the march, killing at least two. More than 60 Palestinians have died in the spasm of violence that began over the weekend. At least two U.N. workers also were killed.
The conflict between Fatah and Hamas has paralyzed the already-fragile Palestinian national unity government. Fatah, the nationalist, largely secular party, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, appeared to be losing significant ground in northern Gaza to the Islamist movement Hamas, which won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council in elections in January 2006.
Abbas, whose West Bank compound was the target of Hamas mortar fire on Monday, today made an appeal for calm.
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