One in five Qassam rockets hit Israeli territory
AFP
Date: 11-06-05
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Only one in five makeshift Qassam rockets fired by Palestinian militants in northern Gaza reaches Israeli territory, with the other four exploding inside Palestinian controlled areas, Israeli military sources said.
The high failure rate was noted in the wake of the army's killing of a top Islamic Jihad leader in the northern West Bank on October 24, following which 40 rockets were fired from northern Gaza into Israel.
Only seven exploded inside Israel, while the other 33 landed in Palestinian territory.
Since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on September 12, the army has been operating a zero-tolerance policy towards rocket-firing militants, raining countless missiles down on fields used as launch-sites for the makeshift projectiles.
Although it has not eradicated the phenomenon, the Israeli bombardment has distanced the firing line from the Israel-Gaza border, which has put Israeli territory largely out of range of the Qassam fire, the sources said.
Qassam rockets are both manufactured by and named after the armed wing of the radical Hamas movement, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades.
Although the rockets have an estimated range of up to 10 kilometres (six miles) and are equipped to carry an explosive charge of up to five kilogrammes (11 pounds), they are known for being inaccurate.
On Sunday, a Palestinian was seriously injured when a rocket fired by Hamas activists hit his home in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah.
Palestinian sources said the militants were testing the range of the missile.
Source
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