The rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah conflicted again Monday, leaving at least three people dead and several others wounded in a shootout in the Gaza Strip, local witnesses reported.

The exchange of fire killed two members of the former ruling Fatah faction and one of the governing Hamas movement near the southern town of Khan Yunes. The fight wounded several others, local medics said.

Hamas had previously accused Fatah of kidnapping its members.

Tensions between the two Palestinian groups have been escalating with 20 people reportedly wounded last month in another showdown.

On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, but failed to resolve disputes over security and end an international financial boycott threatening to bankrupt the Hamas-led government.

A Fatah spokesman on a separate occasion slammed Hamas slogans such as "yes to hunger, no to surrender."

"No one should say yes to hunger because hunger is the beginning of ignorance and economic backwardness and therefore, we reject these terms," said Jammal Nazal, newly appointed spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank.

The Fatah spokesman called upon Hamas to abide by previous deals reached between the Palestinians and Israel in order to "ease the way toward a dialogue with Arabs and the world."

Winning the January legislative elections, Hamas took the reins of the Palestinian government in late March.

The United States and the European Union, the two key donors, have cut off direct aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government since Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and honor previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

Source:Xinhua