GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  — Gunmen shot and killed a well-known adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City early Tuesday, security officials said.

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Khalil al-Zaben, 59, was hit by 12 bullets has he left his office in the Sabra neighborhood, hospital and security officials said.

Al-Zaben published a weekly magazine devoted to Palestinian affairs and human rights. He joined forces with Arafat in the 1960s and served in a number of capacities, including media adviser and personal secretary.

Palestinian police rushed to the scene of the murder and began investigating. Security officials said they did not know who killed al-Zaben.

In recent weeks, Gaza has been rocked by internal Palestinian violence, as rival groups vie for control. There is concern that with the weakening of Arafat’s Palestinian Authority and a planned Israeli pullout from most of the Gaza Strip, a chaotic situation might result.

Al-Zaben returned to Gaza along with Arafat and other exiled Palestinian leaders in 1994, under terms of Israeli-Palestinian interim peace accords.