GAZA, Feb 1: Hamas men on Thursday ambushed what the group said was a convoy carrying weapons to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's guard unit in the Gaza Strip, leaving six people dead.

Abbas's Fatah faction said the four-truck convoy, which had crossed from Israel, was carrying medical equipment and tents, and accused Hamas of seriously endangering a three-day-old ceasefire.

Hospital officials said 50 people, including two children, were wounded in the clash, the fiercest since a ceasefire deal on Tuesday largely halted five days of gun battles between Hamas and Fatah in which 33 Palestinians were killed.

Two presidential guard officers, a member of a military intelligence unit loyal to Abbas, a Hamas member, and twocivilians were killed in a battle between Hamas men and presidential guards accompanying the convoy, the residents said.

“A real war is taking place. Gunmen are using the heaviest arms they have,” said one witness.

President George Bush has committed $86 million to provide training and non-lethal equipment to forces loyal to Abbas, a moderate. Weapons are being supplied by key U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, with Israeli approval, Israeli officials say.

Hamas defeated the once-dominant Fatah in elections a year ago. But it has struggled to govern since taking office in March under the weight of U.S.-backed sanctions imposed over its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept existing interim peace deals with the Jewish state.

Diplomats say Abbas's military build-up was meant to counter strides by Hamas in smuggling more powerful weapons into Gaza for its fast-growing “Executive Force” and armed wing, known as the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.

After the attack, Fatah ordered its fighters to be on “full alert” and respond to Hamas attacks.—Reuters