Five killed in Israeli airstrikes

Israeli troops backed by airstrikes today killed five Palestinians, including two civilians, in an operation against rocket launchers in the southern Gaza Strip, witnesses and Palestinian medics said.

During the clashes, a Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza landed in a northern neighbourhood of the Israeli city of Ashkelon, one of the longest distances the rockets have flown, the Israeli army said. Israel Radio said the distance the rocket flew was about 10 miles. About 120,000 people live in Ashkelon.