Rockets fired from inside the Gaza Strip have hit sites less than half an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv, according to reports in the Israeli media.

The last week has seen the most intense barrage of rocket and morta r shells out of Gaza in two years, as Hamas has escalated attacks on southern Israel.

The Jerusalem Post said that this morning a rocket struck Rishon LeZion, a town just 15 kilometres from Tel Aviv, while another rocket exploded north of the city of Ashdod.