Fighting has continued between rival clans and rival terrorist groups in the Palestinian Authority-controlled Gaza region despite the efforts of Hamas to turn the growing violence against Israel. Several local Arabs have been kidnapped in the past week. The body of one man, 30-year-old Mohammed Akila, was found on Sunday and carried signs of torture.

Hamas has blamed Israel for several deaths and shootings in the region in the past several days, despite the lack of Israeli presence in those areas. On Sunday night Hamas claimed that Israel was responsible for the critical injuries of two of its members in southern Gaza despite IDF reports to the contrary. Last week Israeli soldiers were blamed for the injuries of several local civilians despite the fact that no soldiers were present in the area.