GAZA CITY, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) - At least five Fatah and Hamas supporters were wounded in a clash Tuesday in the center of Gaza, witnesses and medics said.

Sustained gunfire and an explosion could be heard in the city.

Witnesses said the clash took place near the city's Shifa hospital, and involved forces of the Hamas-controlled interior ministry and the security services loyal to president Mahmud Abbas.

The two rival groups battling for power in the volatile Palestinian territories agreed on a ceasefire Sunday night, but a member of Abbas's Fatah party was killed on Monday after gunmen fired on a welfare agency in northern Gaza in an attack that also wounded five other people.

Nine Fatah members, including senior official Sofiane Abu Zaida, and five Hamas loyalists were kidnapped during the day, but were later released after mediation between the groups.

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