LIVE UPDATES: Israel's Defense Minister Orders Forces to Prepare for Further Hostilities

Israel has since been repelling missile attacks and launching new attacks on the Gaza Strip.

"Sirens sounded in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip," the office said in a statement.

The office added that air raid sirens continued to sound in southern Israel less than 30 minutes before the truce comes into effect.

The office added that the Israeli side reserves the right to use force should the ceasefire agreement be violated.

Media reported earlier on Sunday that the Egypt-mediated truce between the movement and Israel was expected to enter into force at 8 p.m. local time.

"Recently, Defense Minister Benny Gantz held an assessment of the situation with senior heads of security agencies, including the army's chief of staff, the director of the Mossad intelligence agency, the head of the Shabak [the Israel Security Agency], and others. After the meeting, Minister Gantz ordered the defense ministry to maintain combat readiness," the office said in a statement.

He added that Islamic Jihad is demanding that the prosecution of the movement's members be stopped.

After the sirens went off, sounds of explosions were heard when the missiles were allegedly intercepted.

"The goals of the operation have been achieved, we are at the final stage," Lapid was quoted by Yediot Ahronot newspaper as saying to the heads of Israel's southern cities.

The number of people wounded as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has climbed to 253, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the ministry reported 32 deaths, adding that 215 people were wounded.

"As a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip... 253 people were injured," the ministry said in a statement.

The Israel Defense Forces launched an operation dubbed Breaking Dawn against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The IDF press office said that the Israeli forces are preparing for the operation in Gaza to continue for one week.

Israel introduced a state of emergency and has since been repelling missile attacks while continuing to launch new attacks on the Gaza Strip. Since Friday afternoon, air raid sirens have been heard in areas bordering Gaza in Israel and some central cities of the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that the strikes against Islamic Jihad sites are meant to eliminate a concrete threat to Israelis and to inflict damage on "terrorists and their accomplices." He stressed that Israel "will continue to act without hesitation to secure peace for its citizens." One of the leaders of Islamic Jihad, Khaled al-Batsh, blamed Israel for the escalation and claimed that the group "has no choice but to defend the people against aggression."

On Saturday, the United Arab Emirates, China, France, Norway, and Ireland have submitted a request to hold a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the current hostilities in the Gaza Strip. The foreign ministries of Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Tunisia have condemned Israel's actions, while calling on the international community to intervene to halt the Breaking Dawn operation.

A truce in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will go into effect at 8 p.m. local time (17:00 GMT), Reuters reported on Sunday, citing a Palestinian official.

Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that Israel agreed to the truce in Gaza proposed by Egyptian mediators.

Israel has agreed to a truce in the Gaza Strip proposed by the Egyptian mediators, while a response from the Palestinian Authority is still pending, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing sources.

Almost 600 missiles have been fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel since the beginning of the conflict escalation earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday.

"580 missiles have already been fired. There will probably be more of them. Of these, 450 entered Israeli territory, and 20% are unsuccessful launches," the spokesperson said at a briefing.

The share of missiles intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome Air Defense System is approximately 97%, the spokesperson added.