The Hamas terror war against Israel

• Statements by Israeli leaders
• Selected statement by Hamas leaders
• Israeli communities within range of rocket fire
• IDF targets Kassam launchers
• Statistics of rocket and mortar fire
• Hamas exploitation of civilians as human shields: Photographic evidence

• The Hamas War against Israel: A Diary
May 2008 | April 2008 | March 2008| Feb 2008 | Jan 2008 | Nov-Dec 2007 | Oct 2007 | Sept 2007 | Aug 2007

• Selected statements by Hamas leaders

Ahmed Yousef, chief political advisor to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to "Der Spiegel" (2 Feb 2008): "If the Israelis want our blood, I’m willing to sacrifice my children."

Ahmed Yousef, chief political advisor to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, regards knocking down the Rafah wall as the greatest success Hamas has scored since winning the parliamentary elections two years ago. Speaking from his Gaza City office, Yousef said he has received phone calls from around the world congratulating him on the action - including from self-appointed emissaries of European governments. "Hamas is once again a player to be reckoned with," exulted Yousef.

Ahmed Yousef would like to pull off another Rafah-style exploit, but this time against the Palestinians' archenemy, Israel. He is planning a mass march to the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza. "We’re going to send half a million people there, mainly women and children. Then we’ll see how the Israelis react," he says. A devilish scheme, since the Israelis would not react as passively to the storming of their border as the Egyptians did. But Yousef is not impressed by such objections. "If the Israelis want our blood, I’m willing to sacrifice my children."

Yousef has already asked international observers to participate in the "march on Erez." Some have already agreed to come, and Yousef is happy about this. "This," he says, "is the beginning of the third Intifada."

From interview with former Hamas foreign minister Mahmoud A-Zahar (21 Aug 2007): Rocket barrage of Sderot is Hamas strategy.

The interviewer asked why Hamas chose to stop suicide bombings two years ago.

A-Zahar: "Which do you think is more effective, martyrdom operations or rockets against Sderot? Rockets against Sderot will cause mass migration, greatly disrupt daily lives and government administration and can make a much huger impact on the government. We are using the methods that convince the Israelis that their occupation is costing them too much."

"We are succeeding with the rockets. We have no losses and the impact on the Israeli side is so much."

Source: Conflict Blotter - News, analysis and original reporting on the Middle East
Conflict Blotter is written by Charles Levinson, currently Mideast Correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph.

• Israeli communities within range of rocket fire
(distances calculated from launching areas in the Gaza Strip)

(Source: IICC)

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• IDF targets Kassam launchers

 IAF carries out pinpoint attack on truck carrying 160 Kassam rockets (March 1, 2008)

Kassam launchers found in Bet Hanoun in Gaza - Sept 5 (IDF Spokesman)

IDF footage from November 15 shows a terrorist cell setting up Kassam launchers on a dirt embankment in northern Gaza near a busy intersection. After army intelligence confirmed the men were not civilians, the IDF launched its first attack against the cell, wounding several of its members. As the remaining terrorists attempt to flee the scene the army launches its second strike, killing all four of the cell members and destroying the rocket launchers.

Israel targets Kassam launchers (Nov 15)

Joint IDF ground troops operating in northern Gaza on September 5 uncovered four Kassam rockets ready for launch, in a civilian industrial zone near Beit Hanoun, adjacent to a cow shed. Seven more launchers were uncovered later in the day.
On October 12 , an IDF force exposed and seized seven Kassam rocket launchers on the outskirts of Beit Hanoun.

• Statistics of Kassam rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip

Total rocket attacks:

Since the first rocket fell on Israel on 16 April 2001: 3,139
Since the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in August 2005: 2,556
Since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in mid-June 2007: 1,124
This year:
  - From 1 Jan through 31 Mar 2008: 839
  - From 1-30 April 2008: 145

Mortar bomb hits during the same period: more than 3,000.

Grad missiles: During the recent escalation (27 February - 3 March 2008), 23 hits of Grad missiles were identified, most in Ashkelon. Some of them were in the northern part of the city, which was hit for the first time (including Kfar Silver, a youth village north of the city). A Grad missile also hit Netivot. The scope and frequency of launchings of these long-range missiles is unprecedented.

Monthly distribution of identified rocket hits during the past year

Monthly distribution of identified mortar shell hits

Rocket Fire Statistics, 2008 

Breakdown by year:

Year	No. of rockets	Comments	Mortar bombs
2001	4		245
2002	35		257
2003	155		265
2004	281		876
2005	179	108 until the withdrawal, 71 afterwards	238
2006	946		22
2007	896	421 until the Hamas takeover, 475 afterwards	749
2008	694	January-March	467

Source: Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)

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From Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip in mid-August 2005 until the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip 1,826 missiles were fired into Israeli territory from Gaza, as follows:

15 August - 31 December 2005: 270
1 January - 31 December 2006: 1020
1 January - 14 June 2007: 536

Rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continues as the preferred modus operandi of the Palestinian terrorist organizations. Most of the rockets are locally manufactured and have an approximate maximum range of 9 kilometers (6 miles), although some have a range of 12.5 kilometers (7 ¾ miles). In addition, also launched were a number of standard 122 mm rockets with a range of 20.4 kilometers (12 2/3 miles) which had been smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

Since the disengagement there has been a sharp increase in the number of rockets launched at the western Negev. (Until the disengagement, massive rocket fire was aimed at the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.) The preferred targets during 2006 were the city of Sderot and civilians living in settlements in the western Negev, although attempts were made to launch rockets as far away as Ashkelon.

In 2006, 861 rockets were fired at population centers in the western Negev, as compared with 222 in 2005 and 268 in 2004 (not including rockets fired at Israeli settlements inside the Gaza Strip).

In May 2007, Palestinians launched some 300 Kassam rockets from Gaza at Sderot and the western Negev. Hamas openly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Note: All of these statistics relate to identified hits in Israeli territory. The total number of rockets launched is about 20% more and includes failed launchings as well as rockets that fell short (inside the Gaza Strip) or in the sea.

The statistics used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are taken from the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) under the direction of Dr. Reuven Ehrlich.