Jerusalem, Oct 9 (IANS): Five people were wounded on Monday, two of them are said to be critical, as heavy barrages of rockets were fired by terrorists in the Gaza Strip at towns in southern and central Israel, including one that exploded near Ben Gurion International Airport, media reports said.

The Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service said it treated four people wounded in Ashkelon by rocket impacts, including a 75-year-old man, two men aged 55 and 30, and another person.

In Ashdod, MDA said its medics treated a woman in her 50s who was seriously wounded as a result of a rocket impact.

Sirens were heard in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ra’anana and as far north as Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Times of Israel reported.

It was the first time sirens were heard in many of the locations since Saturday.

There were multiple explosions, caused either by impacts or interceptions by the Iron Dome missile defense system, Times of Israel reported.

One rocket fell in an open area near Ben Gurion Airport. However, the airport said it was operating normally.

The barrages came a day after Israel formally declared a state of war as the death toll from the massive Hamas attack rose above 700 and was expected to rise further, with the fate of over a hundred people abducted and taken into the Gaza Strip still unclear, Times of Israel reported.