Three Gaza rockets shot down over Tel Aviv area: army

Three Gaza rockets were shot down over the Tel Aviv area on Friday as Hamas militants claimed they had fired M75 missiles at Ben Gurion airport.

All three were shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, an army statement said.

"Three rockets were launched at central Tel Aviv. All three were intercepted over the Tel Aviv metropolitan area," it said.

The rocket fire was claimed by Hamas militants in Gaza who said they had launched "four M75 missiles at Ben Gurion airport" just outside Tel Aviv.

A spokesman for Israel's Airport Authority told AFP Ben Gurion airport was closed down for "nine minutes" but then resumed operations as normal.

Witnesses in Tel Aviv said four or five explosions were heard shortly after sirens wailed across the area, sending people fleeing for cover.

Police reported finding "shrapnel in open areas" in Tel Aviv, but no injuries.

Earlier Friday, a rocket fired from Gaza hit a petrol station in the southern city Ashdod, causing a fire and wounding three people, one of them seriously, the emergency services said.