Soccer matches in southern Israel cancelled due to Gaza fighting

The Israel Football Association have called off two Premier League matches set for Saturday due to current conflict between Israel and Gaza.

The matches between Hapoel Beersheba and Hapoel Ramat Gan, and Ashdod SC and Hapoel Acre were postponed after the police and the military barred large gatherings because of a fear of rocket strikes by Palestinian militants.

The latest phase of the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict sharpened on Wednesday when Israel killed Ahmed Jabari, the military mastermind of Islamist faction Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Following Jabari's assassination in a precision air strike on his car, more than 270 rockets hit Israel and it shelled the Gaza Strip from land, air and sea. Three Israelis were killed by a rocket on Thursday and 19 Palestinians have died.

The Israeli FA said the rest of the weekend league program, thought to be largely out of range of the rockets, would go ahead as planned. Lower league and junior fixtures in the south of the country were also cancelled.

Editing by Greg Stutchbury