Fatah sources said the recent fightings had raised tensions with Hamas to the point that the unity government could collapse within days. Dozens of Hamas gunmen exchanged fire with Fatah security officers in Gaza City in the morning, resulting in the death of a bodyguard of Fatah spokesman Maher Meqdad.

Ten others were wounded. Later, Palestinian sources said that a second gunman of Fatah's special forces was also killed in fighting with Hamas. An Egyptian security delegation stationed in Gaza brokered an agreement between the two sides last night to withdraw their forces and exchange captives, spokesmen from Hamas and Fatah said early on Monday.

Under the deal, both sides were supposed to pull their gunmen off the streets and swap 14 hostages held by Fatah with at least six held by Hamas, Palestinian sources said.

"In order to maintain national unity and preserve Palestinian blood, Hamas and Fatah leaders met and agreed to end the fighting and remove the checkpoints," Ayman Taha, a Hamas official, said.

"We assure our people that we will block all attempts to drag us into internal acts of sedition," Abdel-Hakim Awad of Fatah announced. In the deadliest infighting since February when the two factions agreed on a national unity government under the Mecca accord, at least five persons were killed and some twenty were injured on Sunday, hospital sources in Gaza said.

Both factions blame each other for the renewal of violence. Hamas' armed wing said its men had rushed to the scene after Fatah gunmen opened fire from rooftops at homes belonging to its members.