More than 1,000 people emerged from their homes to hold a peaceful rally calling for an end to the violence.

Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh: “We are demonstrating today in the Gaza Strip to say one word to Hamas and Fatah: to stop the clashes, to stop the violence between the brothers and to end all kind of clashes between Fatah and Hamas, because this violence destroys and demolishes our dream to be in a free Palestine.”

The marchers, including women and children, converged on a beachfront neighborhood that has been a daily site of fighting. The marchers stood in the crossroads separating gunmen from both sides. But they were forced to disperse when unidentified attackers opened fire, killing two people.