Ashdod

Ashdod is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean coast 32 kilometres south of Tel Aviv and 20 km north of Ashkelon.

The city was named after the historical town of Ashdod, located c.6 km southeast, which dates originally to the 17th century BCE as one of the five Philistine city-states. The ruins of Ashdod-Yam also lie on the coast to the southwest of the city center and adjacent to the city's expanding suburbs.

Modern Ashdod was established in 1956 on the sand hills 6km northwest of the historical Ashdod, then known as Isdud, a Palestinian town which had been depopulated in 1948. It was incorporated as a city in 1968, with a land-area of approximately 60 square kilometres.