JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Rocket warning sirens sounded on Wednesday in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, about 14 km (9 miles) from the Gaza Strip, but were a false alarm, the Israeli military said.

The sirens blared in the city of 130,000 people four days after a 24-hour flare-up of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip ended in an unofficial ceasefire. But tensions remain high.