Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel

Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel, 2008
By year (list)
2001 2002–2006 2007 2008 2008 ceasefire Gaza War 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Groups responsible
Fatah Hamas Islamic Jihad PFLP DFLP PRC Ansar al-Sunna Force 17 Army of Islam Tawhid wal-Jihad Abdullah Azzam Brigades Mujahideen Shura Council
Rocket types
Mortar Qassam Al-Quds Katyusha Grad Fajr-5
Cities affected
Ashdod Ashkelon Beersheba Eilat Gedera Kiryat Gat Kiryat Malakhi Netivot Sderot Ofakim Yavne Tel Aviv Jerusalem
Regional Council areas affected
Hof Ashkelon Karmia Netiv HaAsara Yad Mordechai Zikim Eshkol Nir Oz Nirim Yesha Sha'ar HaNegev Kfar Aza Nahal Oz Nir Am Sdot Negev Alumim Sa'ad Merhavim Be'er Tuvia Yoav Bnei Shimon Gush Etzion
Settlements affected (evacuated)
Atzmona Dugit Elei Sinai Gadid Ganei Tal Katif Kfar Darom Morag Netzarim Netzer Hazani Neve Dekalim Nisanit Rafiah Yam Slav
Defense and response
Civil defense in Israel Red Color Iron Dome ZAKA
See also
Rocket attacks on Eilat Projectile attacks from Lebanon
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Since 2001, Palestinian militants have launched tens of thousands^[1][2][3][4] of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip as part of the continuing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been described as terrorism by the United Nations, the European Union, and Israeli officials, and are defined as war crimes by human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets to be illegal under international law.^[5][6] Palestinian militants say rocket attacks are a response to Israel's blockade of Gaza,^[7][8][9] but the Palestinian Authority has condemned them and says rocket attacks undermine peace.^[10]

From 2004 to 2014, these attacks have killed 27 Israeli civilians, 5 foreign nationals, 5 IDF soldiers, and at least 11 Palestinians^[11] and injured more than 1900 people.^[12] 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.^[13][14][15] A public opinion poll conducted in March 2013 found that a majority of Palestinians do not support firing rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, with only 38% favoring their use.^[16] 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.^[17] The rocket attacks have caused flight cancellations at Ben Gurion Airport.^[18]

The weapons, often generically referred to as Qassams, were initially crude and short-range, mainly affecting Sderot and other communities bordering the Gaza Strip. In 2006, more sophisticated rockets began to be deployed, reaching the larger coastal city of Ashkelon, and by early 2009 major cities Ashdod and Beersheba had been hit by Katyusha, WS-1B^[19] and Grad rockets.^[20] In 2012, Jerusalem and Israel's commercial center Tel Aviv were targeted with locally made "M-75" and Iranian Fajr-5 rockets, respectively,^[21] and in July 2014, the northern city of Haifa was targeted for the first time.^[22] A few projectiles have contained white phosphorus said to be recycled from unexploded munitions used by Israel in bombing Gaza.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

Attacks have been carried out by all Palestinian armed groups,^[28] and, prior to the 2008–2009 Gaza War, were consistently supported by most Palestinians,^{[29][30][31][32]} although the stated goals have been mixed.

Israeli defenses constructed specifically to deal with the weapons include fortifications for schools and bus stops as well as an alarm system named Red Color. Iron Dome, a system to intercept short-range rockets, was developed by Israel and first deployed in the spring of 2011 to protect Beersheba and Ashkelon, but officials and experts warned that it would not be completely effective. Shortly thereafter, it intercepted a Palestinian Grad rocket for the first time.^[33]

In the cycle of violence, rocket attacks alternate with Israeli military actions. From the outbreak of the Second Intifada (30 September 2000) through March 2013, 8,749 rockets and 5,047 mortar shells were fired on Israel,^[34] while Israel has conducted several military operations in the Gaza Strip, among them Operation Rainbow (2004), Operation Days of Penitence (2004), Operation Summer Rains (2006), Operation Autumn Clouds (2006), Operation Hot Winter (2008), Operation Cast Lead (2009), Operation Pillar of Defense (2012), Operation Protective Edge (2014), Operation Guardian of the Walls (2021) and Operation Swords of Iron (2023).