When Israeli rockets slammed into her neighbourhood in a crowded refugee camp in the Gaza strip on Saturday night, 9-year-old Leen Matar said she was so scared that she began to recite Islam's final prayers.

"I was at my grandfather’s house when suddenly the rubble started to fall on us," she said while lying in a hospital bed.

Matar was wounded in an Israeli strike that killed a senior commander with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group late on Saturday evening, the second day of a major flare-up in violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

The Gaza authorities said five civilians were killed in the attack in the Rafah refugee camp, along with the commander - Khaled Mansour - and two of his associates.

A senior Israeli military officer said Israel had hit Mansour and a few commanders with him. He said the army did not know exactly how many civilians were killed but he denied it was five.

Israel began mounting air strikes on Friday against what it described as Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. Around 30 Palestinians have been killed, at least a third of them civilians. Israel says it does not target civilians.

Islamic Jihad has fired hundreds of missiles into Israel, where antimissile defences have prevented casualties but people have still been driven into shelters.

A ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt has been reached between parties and taken effect as of 20:00 pm local time on Sunday.

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