Hamas announces Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel

Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, said it reached an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel after an exchange of fire, but explosions in the enclave could still be heard early Tuesday.

"Egyptian efforts succeeded with a ceasefire between the occupation and the resistance factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.

Israel had yet to comment.

The reported truce comes shortly after multiple rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel on Monday evening, according to a joint statement issued by Gaza's armed groups, in response to Israeli air strikes that pounded Hamas positions across the Palestinian territory.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza said they fired projectiles across the border and warned they would escalate attacks if the Israeli army continued its air raids.

Sirens sounded in multiple places in southern Israel close to the border, the Israeli army said.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli warplanes launched air strikes against Hamas positions across the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for a rocket from the Palestinian enclave that hit an Israeli home, wounding seven people.

As the Israeli assault began, residents in the northern part of the Gaza Strip reported hearing the sounds of explosions earlier on Monday evening. Local media reported air strikes landed in an agricultural area east of Khan Younis in Gaza's south.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from the Gaza-Israel border, said several empty buildings associated with Hamas were hit. 

"We've seen several plumes of smoke coming up from the Gaza skyline behind us and we've seen confirmation from the Israeli military that these strikes have begun.