Israel thwarts tunnel attack

Israel claims it has thwarted a "major" terror attack by 13 suspected militants who sneaked in from Gaza through a tunnel, just hours before a five-hour ceasefire was due to begin.

Footage shows the heavily-armed militants emerging from the tunnel about 250m inside Israel, near a kibbutz, around 4.30am local time.

The militants are then seen taking a direct hit from an Israeli airstrike that sends them scurrying back into the tunnel, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported.

The footage also shows the tunnel's mouth and aircraft striking it with explosions.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman for Israel, said at least one militant was killed in the strike and that the remaining fighters appeared to have returned to Gaza through the tunnel.

Some of them were armed with rocket-propelled grenades, he added.

Israel's president Shimon Peres told reporters the militants had planned to carry out the wholesale slaughter of members of the kibbutz.

Neither Hamas nor other Palestinian militant groups immediately claimed responsibility.