MIDDLE EAST:In the spacious, top-floor office of Gaza's former police chief, the television was tuned to al-Aqsa TV, the Hamas channel, and at lunchtime half a dozen well-armed, bearded Hamas commanders rose in unison and knelt in prayer.
On the streets, there were no policemen to be seen. Instead, across the city stood small groups of Hamas gunmen - some in uniform, others not. Directing the traffic were Hamas "volunteers", unarmed and wearing green baseball gaps and fluorescent yellow jackets, each marked "Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas".
The police headquarters was deserted and the police chief long gone. Instead, the commanders from the Hamas executive force lounged on sofas. The executive force militia was outlawed by an edict three days ago issued by its rival Fatah in the West Bank but, in reality, it is now the sole power in an isolated Gaza.
Col Sami Nowafaq, one of the few police officers who had risked turning up to work, looked uncomfortable in his blue uniform. He said: "It's true that the building is empty. But hopefully in the near future the police will come back to work. Of course it's frustrating to see others doing our job."
The police force, like the other major security forces in Gaza, had been dominated by Fatah. But after six months of fighting with Hamas, Fatah collapsed as a military force in Gaza last week and Hamas seized power after a bitter battle. The most senior Fatah security officers fled to the West Bank. Hamas broadcast appeals for the remainder to return to their jobs yesterday but that seemed unlikely for now.
But for the first time in more than six months of fighting, calm had returned to the streets of Gaza. The factional battles and revenge killings that scarred life in the crowded territory and claimed at least 600 lives have ended - at least for now.
Hamas forces are beginning to challenge some of the criminal families, arresting those with illegal weapons. Shops are open and hospitals functioning, but their wards are crowded with the wounded from last week's battles.
Hamas has full security control, but no political authority. Ministries are deserted, the courts are not operating. All the major Fatah security headquarters have been ransacked, along with the private homes of their key officers, including Muhammad Dahlan, Fatah's strongman in Gaza. His house has been stripped.
Graffiti was daubed on the walls: "Here is the house of the killer Dahlan who has been cleaned by the mujahideen." All official documents must now be obtained from the West Bank, where an emergency government of pro-Fatah independents has been appointed by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.
Gazans have been told that Palestinian passports issued here since Friday are no longer valid. Since all crossings out of Gaza to the West Bank are effectively closed, this has cut off the 1.4 million population.
The evidence of battle is everywhere. Muhammad Kalub (19) spent three days with his mother and siblings hiding in the bedroom of their apartment while Hamas fighters destroyed the flat next door, home to a prominent Fatah spokesman, Maher Miqdad. Mr Miqdad escaped to the West Bank, but several of his bodyguards died.
"There is a sort of security now, but still we are cautious," said Mr Kalub.
"This situation cannot continue. There can only be one government."