Rafah, Gaza Strip ? Hamas gunmen seized control of the Gaza Strip’s border crossing with Egypt on Thursday in a ferocious gunbattle with Fatah-allied border guards after Israel blocked the Hamas prime minister from crossing with tens of millions of dollars in aid.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was eventually allowed to cross without the estimated $35 million cash, but on the Gaza side of the border his convoy came under intense fire from Fatah gunmen and one of his bodyguards was killed. Hamas said the gunmen had been aiming to kill the prime minister.

“The bodyguard to Ismail Haniyeh was killed during an assassination attempt,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.

More than two dozen people were wounded in the fighting, deepening factional violence that has pushed the rivals closer to civil war. One of the injured was Haniyeh’s 27-year-old son, Abed.

Haniyeh cut short a trip abroad and was trying to return to Gaza in a bid to quell the infighting between Hamas and Fatah. He was carrying the cash for his government which has been bankrupted by international sanctions to punish Hamas for refusing to renounce its violent, anti-Israel ideology. Other government officials before Haniyeh have carried in millions of dollars of cash in suitcases across the same border point.

Palestinian masked Hamas militants march during a rally Thursday marking the 19th anniversary of Hamas and welcoming the return of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Later in the day, Hamas militants, angry that Israel had blocked the Palestinian prime minister's return to Gaza, burst into the Rafah border terminal and engaged in a gunbattle with guards before it was closed.

Israeli officials said from the beginning that Haniyeh could cross into Gaza without the money. Egyptian mediators stepped in to help resolve the standoff and Haniyeh finally was allowed to cross into Gaza late Thursday. But Maria Telleria, spokeswoman for European border monitors at the crossing, said Haniyeh left the funds, estimated at $35 million, in Egypt.

After he crossed, there was a new burst of gunfire and Haniyeh’s convoy was forced to speed away. A 24-year-old bodyguard for Haniyeh was shot in the head and killed. Officials said Haniyeh was unharmed but his son was shot and slightly injured in the exchange.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah expressed regret for the shooting of the bodyguard, according to the Palestinian news agency, WAFA.

Haniyeh left the crossing for his home near Gaza City. Arriving home about midnight, the prime minister was furious over the gunfire at his convoy. He blamed Israel for the delay at the border but added: “We know the party that shot directly at our cars, injuring some of the people with me … and we also know how to deal with this.”

About 50 gunmen greeted Haniyeh at his home in a refugee camp next to Gaza City, firing in the air and throwing candies.