Jerusalem: Hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continued on Tuesday, despite Israel's initial embrace of an Egyptian cease-fire proposal, which the Islamist Hamas movement appeared to reject.

Israel announced at 9 am Tuesday that it had accepted the Egyptian initiative, but a barrage of nearly 50 rockets from Gaza continued to fly into its territory over the next several hours. By 3 pm, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, confirmed that "we've resumed some striking in Gaza," but would not provide specifics. At least one airstrike hit Gaza City.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had said earlier that he would respond with force if the rockets did not stop.

"We agreed to the Egyptian proposal in order to give the opportunity to deal with demilitarisation of the strip from missiles, rockets and tunnels through diplomatic means," Netanyahu said. "But if Hamas does not accept the cease-fire proposal, as it looks now, Israel will have all the international legitimacy in order to achieve the desired quiet."