Hamas will not renew truce with Israel in new year

Hamas will not renew its truce with Israel when it expires at the end of the year, the political leader of the Palestinian militant group, Khaled Mashaal, said today.

His comment, a reiteration of a statement last month, posed the threat of renewed suicide bombings in Israel. Hamas carried out dozens of such attacks, killing hundreds of people, before the informal truce came into effect earlier this year.