Hamas Takes Control of Gaza

Hamas' most spectacular attack was the detonation of a one-ton tunnel bomb under a Fatah security headquarters in Khan Yunis. The ambush, which was apparently weeks in the planning, killed at least six and appeared to give Hamas control of the strategic southern town. In the border town of Rafah, Hamas fighters hoisted Hamas flags over the smoldering wreckage of the border security post as reports emerged of Fatah forces fleeing across the border into Egypt. In Gaza City, hundreds of Fatah loyalists from the influential Bakr clan surrendered to Hamas militants who had laid siege to their compound.

On Wednesday about 1,000 Palestinians protesting against the violence marched through Gaza City, drawing gunfire that killed two of the demonstrators and wounded four others. The prospect of Hamas taking control of Gaza has terrified its secular residents, who fear that Islamist rule will be imposed.

The Fatah security services ruled Gaza City for 15 years but are now holed up in fortified bunkers awaiting a fully-fledged assault by Hamas. "They're firing at us, firing RPGs, firing mortars. We're not Jews," the brother of Jamal Abu Jediyan, a Fatah commander, pleaded during a live telephone conversation with a Palestinian radio station. Minutes later both men were dragged into the streets and riddled with bullets.