Palestinian gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's Gaza home today as factional fighting raged for a fourth day.
Mr Haniyeh, who was unharmed, is a leader of the Islamist Hamas group, and the clashes have cast doubt on the future of a unity coalition he forged with President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in March. Fourteen people were killed yesterday, officials said.
A Palestinian inspects Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's house in Gaza, Reuters.
A Hamas spokesman, accused Fatah of firing the grenade in an attempt to assassinate Mr Haniyeh and vowed to punish the perpetrators.
An officer with Mr Abbas's presidential guard said several mortar bombs struck the president's compound in Gaza City earlier today.
In other fighting, Hamas said gunmen had killed a member of its armed wing who was a nephew of one of its late leaders after abducting him. It also accused Fatah of abducting a doctor and threatened to execute Fatah leaders if he was killed.
Yesterday's deaths raised the death toll since the latest round of fighting began on Saturday to 20. Hamas and Fatah gunmen carried on clashing in the streets of Gaza City and in the northern Gaza Strip today, witnesses said.
Israel launched an air strike in northern Gaza after several rockets fired from Gaza struck the Israeli town of Sderot.