Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel |
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By year |
Groups responsible |
Rocket types |
Cities affected |
Regional Council areas affected |
Settlements affected (evacuated) |
Defense and response |
See also |
The following is a partial list of Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on Israel between 2002 and 2006. These attacks commenced in April 2001, although the first rocket to hit an Israeli city was on 5 March 2002, and the first Israeli fatality was 28 June 2004.
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle that obtains thrust from a rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is formed entirely from propellant carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction and push rockets forward simply by expelling their exhaust in the opposite direction at high speed, and can therefore work in the vacuum of space.
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore metal tube fixed to a base plate with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition.
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.
17 rockets and 455 mortar shells were fired at Israel in 2002 and there were a total of 10 injuries caused. [1]
At least 123 rockets and 514 mortars were fired at Israel in 2003. This caused 44 injuries. [1]
882 mortar shells and 276 Qassam rockets were fired at Israel in 2004. These caused 8 deaths and 99 were injured. [1]
574 mortar shells and 286 Qassam rockets were fired at Israel in 2005. These caused 6 deaths and 68 were injured. [1]
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1,247 rockets and 28 mortars were fired at Israel in 2006. [1]
During 2006, the main concentration of qassam rocket attacks occurred during June, July and early August. [35]
At the start of the period of peak hostilities, the ceasefire of February 2005 was officially still in place. [36] On 25 January Hamas won the Palestinian elections. On 25 March President Abbas endorsed the cabinet consisting largely of Hamas members. [37] The Quartet on the Middle East, which included the USA, required Hamas to forsake violence, recognize Israel and respect all previous agreements. When Hamas refused, they imposed the 2006-2007 economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority (Hamas-led). Israel placed restrictions on Palestinian's freedom of movement, especially entering and Leaving Gaza. The US and Fatah collaborated on a plan to collapse the Hamas government. Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades continued to fire rockets into Israel from Gaza, where it refused to obey orders from Hamas government officials. [38] [39] In May and April Hamas leaders repeatedly threatened a new Intifada. [40] [41] Although Israel acknowledged that Hamas was largely sticking to the February 2005 cease-fire, it recommenced assassinations of Hamas leaders with the killing of Jamal Abu Samhadana on 8 June. [42] He was a commander of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), and on 23 April had been appointed Director General of the police forces in the Hamas government's Interior Ministry. He was considered a wanted militant by Israel, [43] being suspected of an attack on a US diplomatic convoy, three years previously. [42] The PRC denied involvement in the 2003 attack. Contradictory reasons were given by Israeli sources as to the objective for the strike on the PRC camp, the Israeli military claiming that the strike was an attack on the camp, while an Israeli security source said that it was prompted by Samhadana's presence. [44] [45]
Samhadana was killed along with at least three other PRC members, by four missiles fired by Israeli Apache helicopters, guided by Israeli reconnaissance drones, at a PRC camp in Rafah. [46] [47] Palestinian human rights sources called the killings extrajudicial executions and assassinations. They reported that Israeli media sources stated that Defense Minister Amir Peretz had personally approved the operation. [48] [49] Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned the assassinations, particularly the fact that they had been adopted as official Israeli policy. It said that assassinations were war crimes according to international humanitarian law, mainly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans all types of extrajudicial capital punishment. [49]
Based on a synthesis of media reports, Lin points to a 'chronology of crisis', which includes Samhadana's assassination by the IDF. [22] Samhadna's supporters threatened to revenge his death. [45] The next day, in response, Islamic Jihad fired rockets at Israel from Fatah-controlled Gaza, and a few hours later the IDF retaliated in turn with a bombardment of alleged launch sites on a Gaza beach near Beit Lahia. During the time span of the IDF bombardment, a civilian Gaza family, the Ghalias, was all but wiped out in an explosion. [50] In response to the assassination of its Ministry official and the civilian 'beach' deaths, Hamas announced that it was going to recommence rocket attacks. [36] On 15 June Hamas offered to reinstate the ceasefire, but Israel refused, requiring Hamas to stop the fire first. This led to more Israeli counter-measures and Hamas, PRC and Army of Islam rocket and other attacks. On 24 June 2006 an IDF commando unit abducted two suspected Hamas members in "the first arrest raid in the territory since Israel pulled out of the area a year ago". [51] [52] The abduction of IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit occurred the next day (25 June 2006). [22] [42] [53] [54] On 28 June Israel launched Operation Summer Rains with the stated objectives of securing the release of Shalit and preventing the launching of Qassam rockets, [55] which had escalated markedly since the 8 June assassination by the IDF. [22] [42] On the night of 29 June Israel detained 64 Hamas officials, including some in the Legislative council. [56] By 27 August the IAF had conducted 247 aerial assaults into Gaza, damaging Gaza's electricity network and killing over 200 Gazans (including 44 children), for the loss of one Israeli life. [57]
During November, the second most intense flurry of rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel took place. [35]
On 12 October 2006, after a month during which Hamas had refrained from rocket launches but other fractions continued to fire about one rocket per day, the IDF failed in an attempted assassination on a senior Hamas commander. [42] Later on the same day, IAF strikes killed 8 armed Palestinians and wounded 20. [58] In response to the Israeli assassination attempt, Hamas resumed its rocket fire from Gaza, lightly injuring 4 Israelis over the next 2 weeks. In turn Israel responded on 1 November 2006 with Operation Autumn Clouds. [59]
On November 8, the IDF killed or mortally wounded 23 and injured at least 40 Palestinians, all civilians. [60] A volley of tank shells hit a built-up civilian area. Israel apologized and attributed the Beit Hanoun shelling to a technical malfunction. Israel said the shells were fired in response to the firing of qassam rockets, probably from a car, the previous day (7 November). [61] By 8 November, the 240 airstrikes in 8 days, ground clashes and destruction of land and buildings of the IDF's Operation Autumn Clouds, had left 68 Palestinians (at least 50 of them militants [62] ) dead, including two Palestinian ambulance workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, and over 150 injured, compared to 1 IDF soldier killed and 1 injured. [63] [64]
The Qassam rocket is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near civilian areas, and are "indiscriminate when used against targets in population centers."
Operation "Days of Penitence", otherwise known as Operation "Days of Repentance" was the name used by Israel to describe an Israel Defense Forces invasion of the northern Gaza Strip conducted between 29 September and 16 October 2004. About 130 Palestinians, and 1 Israeli were killed.
Jamal Abu Samhadana, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip, was the founder and leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, a former Fatah and Tanzim member, and number two on Israel's list of wanted terrorists.
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a part of the wider Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Arab–Israeli conflict. From 2004 to 2014, these attacks have killed 27 Israeli civilians, 5 foreign nationals, 5 IDF soldiers, and at least 11 Palestinians and injured more than 1900 people, but their main effect is their creation of widespread psychological trauma and disruption of daily life among the Israeli populace. Medical studies in Sderot, the Israeli city closest to the Gaza Strip, have documented a post-traumatic stress disorder incidence among young children of almost 50%, as well as high rates of depression and miscarriage. A public opinion poll conducted in March 2013 found that most Palestinians do not support firing rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip with only 38% favoring their use and over 80% supporting non-violent protest. Another poll conducted in September 2014 found that 80% of Palestinians support firing rockets against Israel if it does not allow unfettered access to Gaza. These rocket attacks have caused flight cancellations at Ben Gurion airport.
Events in the year 2008 in the Palestinian territories.
Events in the year 2006 in the Palestinian territories.
Operation Returning Echo was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military operation in the Gaza Strip from March 9 until March 14, 2012. It was the worst outbreak of violence covered by the media in the region since the 2008–2009 Gaza War.