The rocket barrage against Israel that accompanied Hamas’ ground invasion into the land surrounding Gaza overwhelmed Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Iron Dome is designed to target 10 to 20 rockets at a time, not 5,000.
By comparison, Hamas launched a total of 4,000 rockets across the entirety of a 50-day war in 2014.
A new Hamas propaganda video showed that the terrorist organization converted water pipes intended for irrigation to build the rockets used in the offensive. The United Nations and European Union have provided funding for the installation of water pipes in Gaza.
Hamas Developed Sophisticated Smuggling Network
Hamas self-manufactures most of its rockets — with Iranian logistical support — and has created a sophisticated smuggling network.
Egypt and Israel have successfully sealed off Hamas’ smuggling tunnels linking it with Gaza. But Hamas expert Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy reported in August 2021 that Hamas “has mastered the art of sneaking in critical shipments coming from Libya or transiting via Sudan, using generous cash payments to tribes or even bribes to Egyptian military officers.”
Drones that Hamas used as decoys to confuse Israeli radar are shipped as toys. Explosives have been concealed in salt shipments.
As a result of the cutting off of land routes, Hamas has developed ways of smuggling materials by sea. Weapons are reportedly smuggled using underwater tunnels at docks along the coast.
Iran Boasts of Improving Palestinian Terrorist Rocket Capabilities
Iran has stregthened Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations by helping improve their rocket capabilities.
“Instead of giving them a fish or teaching them to catch a fish, we taught our allies and friends how to make a hook, and they are now in possession of missile capabilities and technologies,” General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, said during an interview in January 2021. “Today, the Palestinians fire rockets instead of throwing stones.”
Hamas Deploys New Rockets
Until recently, Hamas was limited to the use of crude, homemade Qassam rockets. Now, U.S. officials told The New York Times that Hamas used a new 114 mm rocket called the Rajum during the attack that overwhelmed the Iron Dome.
The introduction of Rajum signifies an escalation in the strategic dynamic of the disputed region. It promises a new, more potent phase of conflict. The capacities of the Rajum rocket launcher are not yet known, but its introduction marks a definite progression
Hamas also launched small drones to confuse Iron Dome radar operators.
Ground reports from places such as Ashkelon showed that some rockets managed to evade the Iron Dome and hit targets.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimates that Hamas has around 10,000 long-range rockets such as the M-302. It has a range of up to around 47 miles and can easily reach Jerusalem from Gaza.
It has about 6,000 R-160 rockets that have a range of up to 124 miles.
Iran also transferred the Ayash 250 rocket to Hamas. It boasts a 150-mile range that places all of Israel within range.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second largest terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, has approximately 5,500 rockets with varying ranges.
“Hamas uses civilian infrastructure to store and hide these weapons. The terrorist group uses the densely packed civilian areas of the Gaza Strip to embed its weapons arsenal and command centers. In order to target these terror sites and limit civilian casualties, the IDF uses precision attacks and provides warnings of strikes in advance,” the IDF says.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
