After seven Palestinians at a family picnic were killed Friday when an Israeli shell slammed into a beach in the northern Gaza Strip, the military wing of the ruling Palestinian Hamas party said that it would renew suicide bombings in Israel, ending the truce that it declared last year.
"The earthquake in the Zionist towns will start again and the aggressors will have no choice but to prepare their coffins or their luggage," Hamas declared in a leaflet. "The resistance groups... will choose the proper place and time for the tough, strong and unique response."
On his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, said the shelling was a "war crime" and urged an end to recent fighting between Hamas and Fatah movement.
In Washington, the State Department called Friday night for Israelis and Palestinians to show mutual restraint and avoid actions that could increase tensions following the shelling.
