The officials, who have first-hand knowledge of the operation, said the use of the aircraft is part of an Egyptian-led operation against the militiamen that involves Libyan ground troops.
The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Libyan lawmaker Tareq al-Jorushi confirmed to the AP that Egyptian warplanes were taking part in the ongoing operation in Benghazi, but added that they were being flown by Libyan pilots.
Earlier Wednesday, Islamist militias in Libya fought with forces loyal to a renegade general who vows to seize the eastern city of Benghazi.
The city, the second largest in Libya and the cradle of 2011 uprising that led to the downfall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, has been held by Islamist militias since the summer, when they defeated forces allied with Gen. Khalifa Hifter.
Hifter, once an army chief under Gadhafi before joining the opposition decades ago, has announced an offensive to drive out the Islamist militias. Many Libyans as well as some army troops and even parts of the government support him, although his popularity has waned after militias beat back his troops.
Wednesday's airstrikes were a prelude to what many believe to be a concerted push against the Benghazi militias, and Hifter has described the fighting as a "turning point" in his war against Islamists.
By midday, there were conflicting reports over who controlled several military barracks.
Residents contacted by telephone said they saw warplanes striking camps of several Islamist militias fighting under an umbrella group called the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries. Armed residents have set up checkpoints and cordoned off their neighborhoods to prevent militias from using their districts as staging ground for attacks against Hifter's forces, they added, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
A top Islamist militia commander in Benghazi, however, said that his group's forces took over a pro-Hifter barracks housing tanks and a second said that three people have been killed in the fighting. He said the takeover of the barracks came after an Islamist suicide bomber blew himself up at the camp gates. They spoke anonymously for the same reasons.
A security official allied to Hifter denied the claim, saying that the general's troops "liberated" one of the barracks controlled by "extremists," killing a leading member of the Ansar al-Shariah militia.
Ansar al-Shariah was implicated in the deadly assault on U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, that left killed four Americans, including the ambassador.
"I am in the street right now, with my colleagues, and Hifter's forces are deployed to the center and engaged in fierce clashes," said the official, who is a member of Benghazi's official security body. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
Reinforcing the perception that Libya has also become a proxy battleground for larger regional struggles—with Turkey and Qatar backing the Islamist militias while Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE support their opponents, the commander accused the Egyptian government of sending its warplanes to hit his group's positions.
"We have photographs of the Egyptian warplanes and Egyptian naval forces stationed in eastern cities," he told The Associated Press by telephone before the Egyptian officials confirmed the bombings. He said the planes were taking off from airport in Bayda city in eastern Libya. "The Egyptians are bombing us day and night and only want to seed divisions among us here so people point guns at each other."
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