Israelis and Palestinians woke Monday waiting to see whether reports of a ceasefire would be borne out, but neither side appeared willing to be the first to declare a truce, dpa reported.
A military spokesman in Tel Aviv said Palestinians had fired around five missiles at Israel Monday morning, and the Israeli Air Force had launched one air raid on the northern Gaza Strip.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities on either side in the fifth day of fighting.
Rumours of a truce surfaced Sunday night, when a senior official of the Islamist Hamas movement said militant factions in the Gaza Strip had agreed to halt their rocket fire.
Ahmed Yousef told the German Press Agency dpa that the factions were waiting for Israel to give a "positive answer" that it would stop its air raids.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not comment on the remarks.
The latest escalation began Thursday when Palestinian gunmen shot at Israeli vehicles near the border with Egypt, killing eight people and wounding 31 others.
Another Israeli civilian was killed Saturday night in a rocket attack on Beersheba.
Israel said the attackers had come from the Gaza Strip, and launched a series of airstrikes in retaliation. At least one leader of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza was killed.
Palestinian militants responded by firing missiles and mortars at Israel, leading Israel to retaliate with more airstrikes. At least 15 people were reported killed in the salient.
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