RAMALLAH, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah escalated on Friday, leaving at least two Fatah officials dead and more than 25 people wounded, said the Palestinian security officials.

    Gun battles that started Thursday continued into Friday as Hamas and Fatah militants returned to the streets, ending a truce that took effect on early Tuesday.

    The security officials said that Hamas gunmen killed two members of a Fatah-linked intelligence service in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

    Meanwhile, witnesses said that on Friday morning 50 members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' presidential guards surrounded the Hamas-led Interior Ministry and exchanged fire with Hamas gunmen guarding the building.

    The security officials added that during the day Hamas militants attacked Abbas office in Gaza with mortars and rockets and blew up a pro-Fatah radio station. Ambulances were caught in the crossfire and gunmen staged heavy gun battle in the deserted streets in Gaza City.

    According to reports by the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV channel, fresh Hamas-Fatah clashes in Gaza Strip have killed at least 13 Palestinians, with some 180 others wounded, in the past 24 hours.

    Egyptian officials said Hamas broke the truce by attacking several trucks belonging to Abbas' Fatah movement on Thursday while Hamas officials accused the trucks of carrying weapons from Egypt into Gaza Strip. Egypt and Fatah movement both denied the charge.