Jom'aa Saqqa, chief of emergency at Shiffa Hospital in Gaza City, said that a 40-year-old civilian holding a Jordanian passport who worked at the Jordanian embassy in Gaza City was killed.

Sources at the Jordanian embassy confirmed that Mohamed Dureidi, 40, who was the private driver for the Jordanian ambassador, was killed as he was driving the embassy's car alone in Gaza City's Remal neighborhood near the Palestinian Police Headquarters and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) where the clashes erupted.

Saqqa added that nine Palestinian policemen were also moderately injured in the fierce gun battle.

Hamas sources said that the Preventive Security Forces, loyal to Abbas' Fatah movement, opened fired at the newly-established security forces under the control of the Hamas-led government, which have been recently deployed in the Gaza streets.

There was no immediate word from the Fatah movement concerning the incident.

The clashes are still going on and heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, have been used, said witnesses, adding that loud explosions were heard.

Ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

The incident came as tensions have been hiked between Hamas and Fatah supporters over security control.

On May 17, Interior Minister and senior Hamas member Siam ordered the deployment of the 3,000-strong security force in the Gaza Strip although Abbas vetoed the formation of the force, terming it illegal.

Siam declared that the new security forces were to help the existing security apparatuses and police to maintain law and order.

Abbas' Fatah movement, once dominant on the Palestinian political stage, was defeated by Hamas in the January legislative polls. But most of the security forces are Fatah supporters.

The dispute over the control of security forces has led to violence between Hamas and Fatah supporters in the Palestinian territories in the past few weeks, with several people killed and dozens wounded.

Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, took the reins of the Palestinian government in late March. The Islamic group formally commits itself to Israel's destruction and refuses to renounce violence and abide by previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.