Gaza police search for Peruvian

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said everything possible would be done to obtain the release of Jaime Razuri of the French news agency AFP.

Mr Abbas met Peruvian and French diplomats on Tuesday and told them he was confident he would be freed soon.

Brief abductions of foreigners are common in Gaza, usually by disgruntled militants or security force members.

Palestinian colleagues of Mr Razuri say they are worried about his health; he has a heart condition.

The photographer was seized by two gunmen outside the AFP office in Gaza City on Monday.

The identity of the abductors and their motives remain unknown.

"In past incidents of this kind, hostages have been freed after one or two days," Mr Abbas said. "We are determined to end this affair."

Volatile

Some of Mr Razuri's most recent published photographs were of animals being slaughtered for the Muslim Eid al-Adha celebrations in Khan Younis.

This has led some blogsites to speculate he may have been seized because of the gruesome photographs.

Also on Monday, militants from rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah seized members of each other's group, sparking fresh violence in the volatile strip.

Although the number of captured militants was not immediately known, Reuters reported that 10 Hamas gunmen were seized, while Hamas took seven Fatah fighters.

A Fatah source told the news agency that seven gunmen were later released.

Relations between Fatah and Hamas have been poor since Hamas won a shock election victory in January, ousting Fatah from power.

Clashes between Hamas and Fatah fighters caused several deaths following the call in mid-December by Mr Abbas for early elections.