Air Raid Sirens Sound In Israel's Ashkelon Every 12 Minutes On Average - Military

TEL AVIV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2021) Air raid sirens sound every 12 minutes on average in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, one of the hot spots of ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, the home front commander of Israel Defense Forces, said on Sunday.

"The number of rockets fire at Ashkelon is 580 in five days. On average, as you can see, every 12 minutes a rocket is fired at Ashkelon and sirens go off. And civilians � children, old people and women � must go and hide in a bomb shelter," Gordin said at a briefing.

According to him, Palestinian militant groups have significantly increased the range and intensity of attacks, especially in the central regions, compared to previous flare-ups in 2019, 2014, 2012 and 2008.

More rockets were fired at Tel Aviv in the past day and night alone than during the entire 2014 operation, Gordin said.

Tensions escalated on the border between Israel and Palestine's Gaza Strip on May 10. As of Sunday, about 2,900 rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, while Israel targeted rockets at suspected Hamas facilities across the border. The latest toll of casualties stands at 10 people were killed and 50 others seriously injured in Israel, and 181 killed and over 1,000 injured in Palestine.