GAZA CITY
The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said Tuesday that its fighters had fired eight Grad rockets at the Israeli coastal city of Ashdod.
In a statement, the group said the rockets were fired around 9:20am GMT.
The brigades had earlier turned down an Egyptian ceasefire initiative, dismissing the proposal as one of "submission".
Egypt proposed a ceasefire between Gaza-based resistance factions and Israel, starting 6am Tuesday.
The initiative calls on Israel to cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip, halt any ground operations, and stop targeting civilians, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
It also calls on Gaza-based Palestinian factions to cease all hostilities against Israel, halt rocket fire and cross-border attacks and stop targeting civilians.
The Egyptian initiative also calls for reopening Gaza crossings and facilitating the movement of persons and goods through borders.
Earlier Tuesday, Israel's security cabinet accepted the proposal and said its army would suspend airstrikes on Gaza.
At least 194 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1400 others injured in unrelenting Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since last Monday.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks.
Israel says hit by 24 Gaza rockets since Tuesday morning
Meanwhile The Israeli army said Tuesday that at least 24 rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip since 6am GMT.
"Altogether, since 9am, about 22 rockets have been fired at Israel," Israeli army spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted.
"[As many as] 2 more rockets were now intercepted over Netivot," he added later.
No Israeli fatalities have been reported thus far.
Israel to intensify Gaza strikes if no ceasefire reached
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would resume and intensify its airstrikes on the Gaza Strip if Hamas did not accept a proposed ceasefire, according to Israeli media.
"Israel has accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, a goal that was and remains putting an end to rocket fire from Gaza on our cities," Netanyahu said at the beginning of a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
"If Hamas rejects the Egyptian proposal, and the rocket fire from Gaza does not cease, and that appears to be the case now, we are prepared to continue and intensify our operation to protect our people," Netanyahu added, according to a statement issued by his office.
Amid rockets, Israelis treated for 'panic': Ministry
srael's Health Ministry on Tuesday said it had provided treatment for 550 citizens seized by "panic" following a week of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip that has yet to cause any Israeli fatalities, an Israeli daily reported.
Most of the cases of "panic" were reported in central Israel, especially in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, where residents are not used to falling rockets, Yediot Ahronot reported.
A number of injuries from rocket fire have been reported in different parts of the country, the paper added.
For the past week, Israel has waged a crippling air blitz against the Gaza Strip – dubbed "Operation Protective Edge" – with the stated aim of ending rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
Israeli warplanes have struck more than a thousand targets across the besieged enclave, which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians, killing at least 194 over the last eight days.
www.aa.com.tr/en
