Egypt's military says it has bombed Islamic State (IS) targets in Libya, a day after the group released a video purporting to show the beheading of 21 Egyptians.
The attack focused on camps, training sites and weapons storage areas across Egypt's border with Libya.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces General Command said it was "to avenge the bloodshed and to seek retribution from the killers".
"Let those far and near know that Egyptians have a shield that protects them," the statement added.
State television broadcast footage of fighter jets it said were taking off to conduct the airstrikes.
The strikes come after video emerged showing 21 handcuffed hostages dressed in orange jumpsuits being murdered by militants identified as being from the Tripoli Province of IS.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron described the killings as "a cruel and barbaric act", adding: "We will not waver in our fight against terrorists and extremism."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest described the act as "despicable and cowardly".
In the aftermath, Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, threatened to carry out a "suitable" punishment.
As well as the Egyptian airstrikes, Libya's air force also said it had launched airstrikes in the eastern city of Darna, which was taken over by an IS affiliate last year.
Saqer al Joroushi said the strikes by war planes loyal to the official government had been coordinated with Egypt and more would follow on Monday and Tuesday.
In January, the IS branch in Libya claimed it had abducted 21 Egyptian Christians.
The country's foreign ministry confirmed at the time that 20 Egyptians had been kidnapped in two separate incidents in Libya.
Relatives of those kidnapped have gathered in Cairo in recent days to call for the hostages to be released.
Egypt's Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East and are estimated to account for around 10% of the country's population.
Thousands of Egyptians have headed to Libya to work since the Egyptian uprising in 2011, despite government advice that they should stay away from the country.
The killings raise the possibility that the militants have established a direct affiliate less than 500 miles (800km) from the southern tip of Italy.
One of the fighters in the video makes a direct reference to this, saying the group now plans to "conquer Rome".
IS already controls around a third of Iraq and Syria in a self-declared caliphate.
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