The range of rockets fired into Israeli territory during Operation Pillar of Defense. Red indicates the area within mortar shell range, blue the area within the range of rockets locally-produced in the Gaza Strip, green the area within the range of standard 122mm rockets and purple the area within the range of Iranian-made Fajr-5 and 8" M75 rockets manufactured in the Gaza Strip.
Overview
1. Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the other terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip have several thousand rockets, whose maximum range enables them to attack central Israel, that is, the Tel Aviv area.[1]
2. They have two types of rockets:
1) Standard rockets, smuggled into the Gaza Strip by sea and overland –Most of them came from Iran. To smuggle them into the Gaza Strip Iran constructed a complex system that crosses borders and includes sea and overland routes. Sudan is the key country in the system; the arms are brought there by ship and then transferred overland by networks of professional smugglers to the Gaza Strip.[2] The most recent attempt prevented by the Israeli navy was on March 5, 2014, when it intercepted a shipload of long-range M302 rockets manufactured in Syria and sent to the Gaza Strip by Iran through Sudan on board the ship Klos-C.[3]
2) Locally developed and produced rockets– The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip try to develop and produce advanced rockets locally, including rockets with ranges of up to 80 kilometers (or about 50 miles) (according to a lecture by Brigadier General Itay Brun, head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Analysis and Production Unit).[4] The technical know-how used by the terrorist organizations to manufacture medium-range rockets also comes from Iran. During Operation Pillar of Defense 8" M75 rockets manufactured by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were used to attack the center of Israel. The efforts invested in locally developing and manufacturing rockets is the result of the difficulties faced by the terrorist organizations in smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. The difficulties are also caused by the preventive activities carried out by Egypt (which takes intensive action against the tunnels) and Israel.
Quantities of Rockets
3. According to Brigadier General Brun, the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have doubled the quantities of rockets they had during Operation Pillar of Defense, including the following:
1) Several hundred rockets with ranges of up to 80 kilometers(or about 50 miles) (i.e., rockets which can reach all the areas of central Israel and Jerusalem).
2) Several thousand rockets with ranges of up to 40 kilometers (or about 25 miles) (i.e., rockets which can reach Beersheba, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat and Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel).
3) Several thousand rockets with ranges of up to 20 kilometers (or about 12.5 miles) (i.e., rockets which can reach Sderot and Ashqelon in the western Negev). They also have mortars of several diameters, whose range is between three and ten kilometers (or almost 2 and about 6 miles).
Types of Rockets
4. The following are the times of rockets in the possession of Hamas and the other terrorist organizations, based on the ranges mentioned above:
1) Rockets with ranges of up to 80 kilometers include the following:
A. Fajr-5 ("dawn") Iranian rockets, medium range artillery produced by Iran since 1991, apparently with aid from the North Koreans. Fajr-5 rockets have a range of 75 kilometers, capable of reaching central Israeli, i.e. the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. They weigh about 175 kilograms (or about 386 pounds), with warheads of about 90 kilograms of explosives (or almost 200 pounds). Attacking Israel with Fajr-5 rockets during Operation Pillar of Defense became an important factor in the "victory myth" perpetuated by Hamas and the PIJ. The rocket that seriously damaged a residential building in Rishon Letzion (south of Tel Aviv) on November 20, 2012, during Operation Pillar of Defense, was a Fajr-5.
The building in Rishon Letzion hit by a Fajr-5 (Facebook page of the Israel Police Force, November 20, 2012)
Use in Propaganda
B. Middle-range 8" rockets produced independently by Hamas and called M75s.[5] Their range is 75 kilometers. M75s were used to attack Israel during Operation Pillar of Defense and also became a factor in the Hamas and the PIJ's "victory myth."
Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip and an M75 rocket during a military display marking the first anniversary of Operation Pillar of Defense (YouTube and Paltimes.net, November 14, 2013)
M75s Used for Propaganda Purposes
A display of M75 rockets organized by Hamas at Beir Zeit University, near Ramallah (Paltimes.net, December 5, 2012)
2) Rockets with ranges of up to 40 kilometersinclude standard 122mm rockets (mostly made in China). There are also rockets produced locally in the Gaza Strip with similar ranges. They were used to attack Israel during Operation Cast Lead and Operation Pillar of Defense. They enabled the terrorist organizations to attack cities deep within the Israeli home front and put new cities into rocket range, such as Ashdod and Beersheba.
Hamas operatives station 122mm rockets in preparation for firing (YouTube, December 13, 2012).[6]
3) Rockets, mortar shells and anti-tank missiles with ranges of up to 20 kilometers.The category includes 122mm Grad rockets (mostly made in China). To facilitate smuggling them into the Gaza Strip through the tunnels the Iranians created a standard rocket composed of four sections enabling it to be dismantled. The terrorist organizations also have mortars of various diameters, including 60mm, 80mm, 120mm, and mortars manufactured locally with ranges of between three and ten kilometers. In addition they have anti-tank rockets, among them PG-7s and PG-29s, and anti-tank missiles such at the AT-4 Fagot, the AT-5 Konkurs and the AT-4 Kornet.
Hamas terrorist operatives display a PG-29 rocket and launcher (Al-Jazeera, February 28, 2009).
Conclusion: The rocket threat to the Israeli home front has increased since Operation Pillar of Defense
5. According to Brigadier General Brun, the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have double the number of rockets they had in Operation Pillar of Defense. The increase noted by Brigadier General Brun is both quantitative and qualitative. That means an increase in the number of rockets which can reach the central part of Israel within the terrorist organizations' long-term process of military buildup. Thus Hamas, the PIJ and the other terrorist organizations have managed to upgrade their rocket arsenal, through both local production and smuggling. The upgrade was clearly demonstrated in Operation Pillar of Defense[7] and now in Operation Protective Edge by the extent, intense nature, improved quality of the rockets and the increase in their ranges.
[1]On July 8, 2014, a rocket hit Hadera, about 43 kilometers(or about 26 miles) north of Tel Aviv. So far, the ITIC does not know what type of rocket it was or how many such rockets are in the possession of the Palestinian terrorist organizations.
[2]For further information see the January 20, 2013 ITIC survey "Iranian support for the Palestinian terrorist organizations Iran supports the military buildup of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and seeks to rebuild their military capabilities after Operation Pillar of Defense, especially their rocket-launching networks."
[3]For further information see the March 5, 2014 bulletin "Israeli Navy Foils Iranian Attempt to Smuggle Advanced Weapons, Especially Long-Range Rockets, to the Gaza Strip."
[4]According to a lecture given by Brigadier General Itay Brun, Head of the Analysis and Production Department of Israeli military Intelligence, at the Herzliya Conference, and reported by Haaretz, June 10, 2014.
[5]75 for its range and M for Ibrahim Muqadma, who was one of the heads of Hamas' military-terrorist wing until he was killed by the IDF in 2003. On March 10, 2014, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades inaugurated a square in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City named for Muqadma, and it includes a monument topped with an M75 (See picture below).
[6]According to the video they are M75s, but according to the pictures they are 122mm Grad rockets with ranges of 40 kilometers.
[7]According to data from the IDF Spokesman and quoted in Wikipedia, during the eight days of Operation Pillar of Defense 1,506 rockets were fired into Israeli territory, 431 of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system, while some misfired and fell inside the Gaza Strip. According to a statement from the IDF Spokesman on November 20, 2012, 845 rockets fell in Israeli territory. Beersheba and Ashqelon were attacked and for the first time a small number of rockets were fired at the Tel Aviv area and Jerusalem. All the cities are being attacked in the current round of escalation.
