A wary calm returned to Gaza and southern Israel on Tuesday after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire brought an end to hours of intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas.

Israeli jets struck targets throughout Gaza on Monday night, including the offices of the Islamist group’s leader, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions fired rockets at Israeli towns and cities.

No fatalities were reported on either side although several people were injured in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The escalation was sparked by Hamas firing a rocket that wounded several members of a British-Israeli family on Monday morning.

At around 10pm on Monday, Egyptian mediators managed to broker a ceasefire between the two sides, as they have done during several other flare-ups of violence in recent months.

The ceasefire took several hours to take hold and airstrikes and rocket fire continued in the early hours of Tuesday. Millions of civilians on both sides spent the night in fear as the fighting continued.