Unidentified gunmen - assumed to be associated with Hamas - opened fire from a passing vehicle at a car near a school in Gaza this morning (Monday). Three children and an adult driving them to school were killed. The three, aged 6 to 9, were children of Baha Balousha, a high-ranking figure in the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence branch. Balousha was not in the car.
Balousha had been involved in anti-Hamas activity several years ago, and has been the target of at least one assassination attempt in the past.
The quadruple killing follows by one day another attempted assassination. Fatah gunmen tried to kill PA interior minister Said Siam of Hamas as he drove by in a convoy, but missed.
Together with Abu Mazen's expected announcement this week of new elections - a threat to Hamas, which handily won a majority of the PA legislature earlier this year - some now expect a new wave of violence to engulf Gaza.
Over 20 Arabs were killed in civil-war fighting between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza several weeks ago.
Two major issues of contention between Hamas and Fatah are the formation of a unity government, which would involve some sort of recognition of Israel by Hamas, and the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas is loath to carry out either of these conditions. PA Chairman Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) of Fatah has threatened to call new elections in order to solve the impasse, but Hamas has said that such a move would be illegal.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel entered its third week yesterday, after a weekend in which Hamas terrorists fired two Kassam rockets at Israel's western Negev. As was the case with the nearly 20 other rockets fired during the truce period, no damage was caused.