By David Rosenberg-May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Hamas militants killed six bodyguards of a senior security chief loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as efforts to end four days of clashes in the Gaza Strip failed. The Hamas men stormed the home Rashid Abu Shebak, who is the head of the Authority's Internal Security force killing the six and injuring 10 others, Fatah spokesman Abdel Kahim Awad said on Wednesday. Abu Shebak wasn't home at the time and his family escaped. Another member of Abbas's forces was killed in an exchange of fire elsewhere, he said. Violence between gunmen affiliated with Hamas, Fatah and other groups and clans in Gaza exploded over the weekend, leaving about 22 dead. While Hamas and Fatah sit in a coalition government formed in March, Hamas opposes any peace agreement with Israel and the two sides compete for jobs, influence and funds for their members. The two movements maintain their own militias while most of the Palestinian Authority's official security establishment, including the Internal Security force, are loyal to Abbas and Fatah. Interior Minister Hani el-Qawasmeh quit this week after failing to win Cabinet backing for a security plan. The internecine fighting spilled over into Israel late yesterday, with Qassam rockets launched from Gaza hitting the country. Seventeen rockets hit Israel west and north of the Gaza Strip, 10 of them landing in the town of Sderot, a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces, said by telephone. The attack left 30 people wounded, including one seriously, the spokeswoman said, citing figures from the Magen David Adom emergency medical service. Military Wing -Abu Obaida, a spokesman for Hamas's military wing, took responsibility for at least eight of the rockets. All told, the army estimated about 27 of the homemade rockets had been fired since yesterday, a number the army spokeswoman described as ``very, very high.'' This morning's attack came hours after Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismael Hania, who belongs to Hamas, told a Gaza news conference that the two sides had agreed to a truce as of midnight yesterday. It was the third attempt to end the fighting after previous efforts at Egyptian-mediated cease-fires had failed. Gunmen shot and wounded a top Egyptian official in Gaza early today as he tested whether the cease-fire deal was holding, Israel's Haaretz daily reported, citing an unnamed Palestinian security official said. Mortars struck near Abbas's office in Gaza City but caused no injuries, the newspaper said. The salvo followed a grenade attack at a Hamas position at the Interior Ministry in Gaza, it said.

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