UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Syria on Sunday to hold talks with Syrian leaders over the situation in the Gaza Strip hours after Israel's unilateral ceasefire took into effect early in the morning.

The UN chief, who just wrapped up a trip to neighboring Lebanon, was welcomed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem at the Damascus international airport and expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later.

After the Damascus tour, Ban would leave here for Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to attend an international summit on Gaza crisis, which would also be attended by a number of European and Arab leaders.

As Ban continued his Middle East tour in Syria, Israel confirmed on Sunday it launched an airstrike earlier in the day to hit back Gaza militants' rockets attack despite the Israeli unilateral truce which began at 2.00 AM (0000 GMT).

At least five rockets landed in the southern Israeli town of Sderot and the nearby area, causing no casualties or damage, according to Israel's news service Ynet.

Meanwhile, Palestinian militants claimed responsibility for the fresh attacks on Israel, which they said included six rockets fired into Israel, and gunbattles in eastern Gaza City and northern Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.

More than 1,240 Palestinians have been killed in the impoverished Gaza Strip and over 5,000 wounded since the launch of the Israeli raid on December 27, which it said was aimed at revenging Hamas rocket and mortar attacks.