GAZA CITY (BNO NEWS), Aug 23 -- Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group which governs the Gaza strip, have agreed to a ceasefire after five days of cross-border violence, officials said on Monday.

A Palestinian official announced on Monday that Hamas has agreed to ensure that the ceasefire will be recognized by smaller militant groups in Gaza which were responsible for most of the rockets fired at southern Israel in the past few days.

The radical Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), which often acts independently of the other Gaza militias, also agreed to a temporary halt of its rocket fire "for the sake of the Palestinian people."

Hamas had also promised a ceasefire on Sunday but, despite the agreement, at least 12 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on late Sunday and early Monday morning. One of them was intercepted by an Iron Dome anti-rocket battery while the others resulted in no casualties.

The truce comes after tensions in the Gaza Strip have risen rapidly since Thursday's terrorists attacks which left eight Israelis dead in the Negev desert near the Red Sea resort town of Eliat. Seven of the attackers and five Egyptian security personnel were killed as Israeli troops pursued the suspected gunmen.

Since Thursday, Palestinian militants fired more than 100 rockets into Israel, killing one person and injuring several others. Israel responded to both attacks by carrying out a series of airstrikes in Gaza, killing at least six suspected militants, including Kamal Abu Abed al-Nairab who was a senior commander in the PRC.