The Israeli ports of Ashdod and Askelon have continued to operate despite rockets falling near two general cargoships during escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Maritime security Dryad Global said the incidents were "indiscriminate", but warned that port and shipping infrastructure may become targets of any protracted struggle between Jews and Arabs in Israel.

Mobile phone footage released by local witnesses shows rockets hitting the terminal at Ashdod and the offshore area beyond the main anchorage.

At Ashdod, it is understood that a rocket landed in the vicinity of Turkish shipowner Kamer Marine's 7,200-dwt Maltese-flagged general cargoship Mona (built 1995) and the 6,900-dwt Panama-flagged cargo vessel Ahmet Onel (built 1987), operated by Marmara Island Shipping of Turkey.

AIS data from MarineTraffic indicates that Mona has since left the port.

Earlier footage showed the impact of a rocket attack on an oil facility near the port of Askhelon.

The Port of Ashdod told TradeWinds that it was operating "continuously and regularly even during this challenging period."

"The port is an essential existential enterprise that operates even these days as a matter of routine," the company added.

Port workers have continued to work around the clock.

"Ashdod Port, as a strategic asset to the State of Israel, continues to do its best to ensure the continued flow of goods and raw materials to the citizens of Israel," the terminal company said.

Gas platform targeted

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade, the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas organisation, released a statement saying it had targeted an "Israeli gas platform off the coast of Gaza".

US oil company Chevron said that "in accordance with instructions received from the ministry of energy, we have shut-in and depressurised the Tamar platform".

Dryad said Chevron has continued production from its Leviathan field further north, close to the port of Haifa.

US News & World Report reported that on Wednesday a fire was still burning at a storage tank near a pipeline that takes gas to Europe.

The facility was hit by a rocket from Gaza on Tuesday night.

Tensions between Israel and Palestine have risen substantially in the past 12 days.

Violence escalating

Following the eviction of 12 Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, protests erupted which resulted in violent clashes between protesters and security forces.

In the last 48 hours there has been a significant escalation of force which has seen Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ) conduct multiple indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israeli cities, Dryad said.

This image reportedly shows a rocket attack at the port of Ashdod in Israel. The vessels have been named as Mona and Ahmet Onel. Photo: Dryad Global

Israeli ground forces are now reported to have moved into Gaza.

"Thus farm targeting by Hamas and the PIJ has been indiscriminate with the intent of causing significant civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure," Dryad said.

"Port and energy infrastructure are at this stage assessed to be proxy targets with any damage resulting from the indiscriminate nature of attacks."

Wider strategic aims

But Dryad warned that such targets are known to be part of the wider strategic intent of Hamas and the PIJ.

Militants are understood to have access to the Iranian made Fajr-5 surface–to–surface rocket.

"It is assessed that there is no stated intent to target wider commercial shipping," the company said.

"However today's statement by the Palestinian al Qassam indicates a clear intent to target the economic interests of Israel where possible. As such ports and offshore infrastructure remain at heightened risk with attacks and associated damage a realistic possibility," Dryad added.

And the company believes attacks against bespoke targets including port, energy and offshore infrastructure are highly likely to feature in any protracted engagement.