At least two people have been killed after multiple deafening blasts ripped through a fireworks warehouse in central Israel.
The explosions occurred at Porat, an agricultural community located in the vicinity of the coastal city of Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, in the occupied territories on Tuesday. Some nearby houses were damaged.
According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, at least five people sustained injuries in the incident, one of them critically.
Twenty-one teams of firefighters managed to put off the raging flames while evacuating residents and preventing the blaze from spreading to nearby residential buildings.
The warehouse was reportedly operating without a business license and the two dead were employees of the illegal facility, whose manager was detained by police for questioning.
Police have already cordoned off the area and sent emergency units to the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze.