Hamas militants fired mortar shells near Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ residence in Gaza City and nearby street battles sent residents fleeing in terror. Some left their cars idling while they sought shelter.

Masked gunmen took up positions on rooftops, while others took cover in alleyways below. Abbas was not in Gaza at the time.

The violence broke out in the central Gaza town of Bureij on Thursday afternoon after Hamas militants hijacked a convoy delivering supplies to the Fatah-allied security forces, security officials said. Security reinforcements were seen flooding into the town.

Soon after, separate gunbattles broke out in Gaza City and in northern Gaza outside a military intelligence post. Security officials said Hamas militants fired a rocket at the post and then sacked it, injuring five members of the security forces. At least two Hamas supporters were wounded, Hamas said.

A Fatah member was kidnapped in northern Gaza during the clashes, and one security officer was wounded, security officials said.

“Fatah views with gravity the series of violations to the agreement, which has gone beyond the acceptable limits,” Fatah said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops killed three Palestinians and wounded a fourth in violence in the West Bank and along Israel’s frontier with Gaza.

In Gaza, unknown gunmen opened fire early Thursday at Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum as he drove with three bodyguards in his white sedan toward an impromptu checkpoint near Gaza City, Hamas said. There were no casualties. A Hamas announcement blamed “coup-seekers,” meaning militants from the rival Fatah party.

Later Thursday, gunmen in a car shot at Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for a Hamas militia, Shahwan said, blaming the shooting on Fatah-affiliated security officers. One Hamas member was wounded, he said.

Other sporadic shooting attacks were reported Thursday, including one that wounded a Hamas militant.

The early incidents didn’t unravel the cease-fire, but on Thursday afternoon Hamas gunmen ambushed an official convoy guarded by the presidential guard and hijacked two trucks filled with tents, medical kits and toilets, security officials said. The attack sparked the new fighting.

“How can they attack the presidential guards like that when there is a cease-fire,” said Wael Dahab, a presidential guard spokesman.

In the wake of the fighting, security officials re-established roadblocks near Abbas’ official residence in Gaza City. Masked security officers took up positions throughout the streets.

Masked Hamas gunmen also carjacked a police jeep near the United Nations headquarters in Gaza City, stealing the weapons of those in the vehicle, security officials said.

The truce was declared early Tuesday by leaders of Fatah and Hamas and was meant to bring an end to internal fighting that has left more than 60 Palestinians dead since early December, though it did not resolve the underlying animosity between the groups.

The Islamic Hamas ousted Abbas’ Fatah from power in an election a year ago, but Fatah retains control of most of the security forces.

On Wednesday, armed militias returned to their bases and police took their places, though some streets were still off limits to civilians.

Gazans strolled the streets and went about their errands in leisurely fashion Wednesday, enjoying the lull. Mahmoud Dahdouh, 17, hoped business at his vegetable stand would return to normal after the end of the street fighting. “People came here, and then shooting would start and they fled before they bought anything,” he said, unloading a shipment of vegetables.

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