(Adds dead in Fatah-Hamas clashes, updates number of wounded) By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Israeli forces on Friday killed four Palestinians, three of them Hamas militants, in the biggest upsurge of Israeli-Palestinian violence in the Gaza Strip in weeks, residents said. The bloodshed added to tension in the densely populated coastal territory that has also been beset by clashes between forces from the governing Hamas Islamist group and loyalists of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement. A Palestinian teenager was killed and about 50 were wounded during fighting between Fatah and Hamas gunmen after a local Hamas leader and a member of a Fatah-dominated intelligence service were shot dead in separate incidents on Thursday. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas told worshipers at a Gaza mosque: "We are committed to not getting dragged into internal strife or into the so-called civil war." Abbas is considering sacking the Hamas-led government or calling a referendum on new elections, his aides have said. But senior Hamas political leader and lawmaker Fathi Hammad told Reuters: "We will not allow early elections. We are committed to the law which gave this government four years." He did not say what Hamas would do to prevent a vote. The worst internal fighting in a decade has stoked fears of civil war after talks between Abbas and Haniyeh over a unity government broke down. Fatah lawmaker Ahmed Al-Holi called on Hamas to stop the internal violence. "Instead of firing RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) against the houses of Fatah members, Hamas should confront Israeli tanks," he said. Israel launched its Gaza Strip offensive in June to try to recover a captured soldier and stop cross-border rocket fire. Palestinian witnesses said an Israeli missile struck a car in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, killing three Hamas gunmen. Among the dead were two local commanders. An Israeli army spokesman said the three militants had fired rockets into Israel on Thursday morning. "The Israeli army carried out an aerial attack against a vehicle in the northern Gaza Strip, laden with Qassam rockets and carrying Hamas terrorists on their way to launch the rockets at Israel," an army statement said. Earlier, residents said a Palestinian woman was shot outside her home in southern Gaza. The army said troops looking for tunnels had shot at two gunmen in the area and hit both of them. In response to the attacks, a spokesman of the armed wing of Hamas said, "These attempts will fail (to free the missing soldiers) because we do not fear assassinations and these killings will not put pressure on us." Hamas resumed rocket attacks on Israel for the first time in a month on Thursday as nine Palestinians, including at least three Hamas militants, were killed. Almost 240 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been killed since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza. Israeli troops ended 38 years of occupation of the territory a year ago. The current government is struggling under a U.S.-led aid embargo designed to force Hamas to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept past peace agreements with Israel. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Syria, said late on Thursday that the group sees no political gain in recognising Israel and will resist doing so despite the embargo. Hamas's charter calls for Israel's destruction.
