A gunbattle raging in a crowded Gaza City neighborhood between Hamas forces and a heavily armed clan left two clan members dead, Hamas officials said Tuesday.
Machine-gun fire and explosions were audible Tuesday morning around the neighborhood home to the Doghmush clan, a notorious family with links to both militant and criminal groups. Members of the clan were responsible for kidnapping a BBC journalist last year.
Tuesday's fighting was the worst violence in Gaza since an early August clash between the ruling Hamas group and another clan tied to its Fatah rivals.
Two Doghmush fighters were killed and at least one policeman seriously wounded, Hamas security officials said. The clan posted an announcement on a Gaza Web site saying several of its members were hurt.
The Hamas officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the clash was ongoing and its details had not been officially cleared for publication.
Police surrounded the Doghmush compound late Monday after a clan member killed a policeman while resisting arrest earlier in the day. Fighting erupted early Tuesday after the clan refused to turn the man over, Hamas officials said.
The battle raged outside the house of a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, who lives in the same neighborhood.
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