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JERUSALEM — Hamas and other Gaza militant groups said Tuesday they have accepted an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire after launching hundreds of rockets into Israel over the past 24 hours and weathering a wave of punishing Israeli airstrikes.

There was no immediate word from Israel on whether it had accepted a deal to halt the heaviest exchange of fire with Gaza’s Hamas rulers since a 2014 war.

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Just an hour before the militants made their declaration, the Israeli Security Cabinet said it had ordered the military to “continue operations as needed,” following a six-hour meeting.

Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images

The cease-fire was announced by a group of Gaza militant groups, including Hamas, whose leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier signalled a readiness to halt the latest round of fighting. He said the Islamic militant group would stop its rocket fire if Israel halts its airstrikes.

The terms of the deal appeared to be modest. Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad militant group, said each side would promise quiet in exchange for quiet.

The fighting was triggered by a botched Israeli undercover raid into Hamas-ruled Gaza late Sunday, in which seven Palestinian militants and a high-ranking Israeli officer were killed. International mediators have appealed for restraint, hoping to avert another war.

The Israeli military said some 460 rockets and mortar rounds have been launched from Gaza since Monday afternoon, with more than 100 of them intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defence system.