Hamas rejects talk of truce with Israel for now

Gaza's Hamas rulers on Thursday said they would not consider a truce with Israel for now, as Israeli planes pounded Gaza and militants fired hundreds of rockets into the Jewish state. "We will not be exposed to further tricks by the occupation. We consider talk of a truce at this time an attempt to provide more cover for the continuation of the escalation on Gaza," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said at a press conference. This follows a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck Rishon LeTzion, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) southeast of Tel Aviv. The Israeli army have said there were no injuries or damage. "There was a rocket that hit in an open field in the Rishon LeTzion area. There were no injuries or damage," a spokeswoman said. The city, Israel's fourth largest with a population of some 228,000, lies about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the Gaza Strip.