Israel has suspended contacts with international mediators on cease-fire with Gaza, Israeli media reported on Tuesday, following a severe fire exchange between Israel and Gaza.

An official told the Channel 2 TV that Israel was suspending contacts with Egyptian and United Nations mediators, without elaborating on the reasons.

The remarks came as Israel's security cabinet met to discuss Israel's next steps in the wake of the worst flare-up with the besieged Palestinian enclave in years.

Since Sunday night, unprecedented barrages of some 400 Gaza rockets have hit southern Israel, killing a Palestinian man in the city of Ashkelon and wounding at least 85 others, most of whom sustained light injuries.

In Gaza, the Israeli Air Force carried out more than 150 airstrikes, bombing Hamas' al-Aqsa TV and Hamas' headquarters in Gaza, as well as dozens of other sites including tunnels and military positions.

On Monday, the Israeli attacks killed at least three men and on Tuesday five more, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

An Egyptian delegation was expected to arrive in Israel later on Tuesday in an effort to broker a cease-fire, local media reported.

Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special envoy to the Middle East who participates in the efforts to restore calm, said the UN is working closely with Egypt in an effort to "ensure that Gaza steps back from the brink."

The recent escalation is "extremely dangerous and reckless. Rockets must stop, restraint must be shown by all. No effort must be spared to reverse the spiral of violence," he wrote on his Twitter account.

The abrupt violence was sparked by a failed Israeli undercover raid in Gaza on Sunday night. The undercover troops were exposed by Hamas militants, prompting a fire exchange that cost the lives of seven Palestinian militants and an Israeli officer.