The police said that the arrests came as part of a "targeted operational activity" with the aim of thwarting the activities of a criminal assassination squad in Ashdod.
Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection, together with several local authorities, in recent days extinguished and removed waste that was burned illegally at the illegal waste site Talor Charadi in the northern industrial area of Ashdod.
A heavy barrage of rockets was fired at central and southern Israel late on Sunday night from the Gaza Strip. Sirens were heard in neighbourhoods along the Gaza border, as well as in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Rehovot, and Ramle.
The latest rocket barrage originating from the Gaza Strip has raised concerns about the safety of civilians in the affected areas, however, no details of injury have been reported.
Israel’s Ministry of Transportation reported that three new facilities – large stations – for the operation of public transportation defined as being of “strategic importance” will be established in the southern cities of Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon and Ashdod.
Ashdod Customs and the National Cargo Inspection Center at Customs detained for inspection two containers weighing 54 tons that were supposed to contain sacks of gypsum.
The two Israelis killed in Saturday’s terror attack in the Palestinian village of Huwara were identified as Ashdod residents Shay Silas Nigrekar, 60, and his 28-year-old son, Aviad.
The story began two and a half months ago, when Yuval Ganeh and her husband, Amir anxiously rushed to Assuta. Yuval noticed a lack of fetal movement in her 31st week of pregnancy. Doctors discovered that the fetus was in distress and performed an emergency caesarean section.
The children, between the ages of 4-10, had ingested coins, magnetic game pieces and necklace beads. Emergency surgery was required in two of the cases. Adding to the trend, a six-year-old boy was also admitted to Assuta's intensive care unit on Saturday after choking on a piece of candy.