Civilians take cover in an air raid shelter in Sderot, south Israel, as several rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip Several large booms rang out over Ashkelon, southern Israel, on Monday afternoon as Israel fired interceptor missiles from its Iron Dome defence system to destroy incoming rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip, 7km away. The sound has become common across Israel since it began its war in Gaza two weeks ago; people shopping near a crowded town centre shopping mall did not break their stride. More On this story On this topic IN Arab-Israel conflict As of Monday, Hamas and other Gaza-based militants had shot 154 rockets into Ashkelon, a seaside city of 137,000, since Israel’s Operation Protective Edge began. Of these, 85 were intercepted and blown to pieces mid-air by Iron Dome; one of the few that landed in a populated area where residents were […]