Hamas leader calls for renewal of attacks

Hamas' supreme leader today called off a ceasefire with Israel and militants threatened to attack Americans after 18 members of a family, including eight children, were killed in an Israeli artillery barrage on a densely populated neighbourhood.

The bloodshed constituted the highest civilian death toll among Palestinians since fighting erupted six years ago and undermined Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' attempts to form a more moderate government and renew a peace process with Israel.