Qassam rocket

The Qassam rocket ( _ar. صاروخ القسام; also Kassam) is a simple steel rocket filled with explosives, produced by Hamas. Three models have been used. They are all free-flying artillery rockets lacking any guidance system.

Qassams are sometimes referred to as "homemade" or "primitive", but require "both expertise and dedicated locations to manufacture". [ [http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/-Homemade-_Rockets$.asp "Homemade" Rockets? ] ]

The Gaza Strip has been separated from Israel by a security barrier since 1996, which frustrated infiltration into Israel. During its 2005 unilateral disengagement plan, Israel withdrew its civilian and military presence, retaining control over airspace and maritime access. While Qassam rockets were fired regularly even prior to the Israeli Disengagement, the absence of access to targets on the ground has increased the relevance of the rockets, since they were designed to fly "over" the barrier and strike Israeli civilians outside the Strip. Palestinian terrorist have had difficulty establishing rocket-producing and launching infrastructure in the West Bank. [cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,202159,00.html|title=The Homemade Rocket That Could Change the Mideast|author=Tony Karon|publisher=Time Magazine|date=10 February, 2002]

History of the Qassam

Qassam rockets are named after the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas, itself named after an Islamic Mojahed Izz ad-Din al-Qassam who led a Palestinian group during the 1930s. According to Hamas, the Qassam rocket was first developed by Nidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat and Mohamed Khaled and produced under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul, the "Father of the Qassam", who was killed by the Israeli army on October 22, 2004.

Qassams were first fired at Israeli civilians in October 2001. The first Qassam to hit Israeli territory was launched on February 10, 2002. The first time an Israeli city was hit was on March 5, 2002, when two rockets struck Sderot. Some rockets have hit as far as the edge of Ashkelon. The total number of Qassam rockets launched exceeded 1000 by June 9, 2006. During the year 2006 alone, 1000+ rockets were launched. As of May 2008, over 3,000 rockets had been launched [cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Missile+fire+from+Gaza+on+Israeli+civilian+targets+Aug+2007.htm |title=The Hamas terror war against Israel |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |accessdate=2008-06-03] and 15 people have been killed by Qassam rockets [cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm |title=Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000 |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |accessdate=2008-03-06 Incidents: June 28, 2004 (2 killed), September 29, 2004 (2 killed), January 15, 2005 (1 killed), June 7, 2005 (3 killed), July 14, 2005 (1 killed), November 15, 2006 (1 killed), November 21, 2006 (1 killed), May 21, 2007 (1 killed), May 27, 2007 (1 killed), February 27, 2008 (1 killed), May 12, 2008 (1 killed)] (see: List of Qassam rocket attacks).

The introduction of the Qassam rocket took Israeli politicians and military experts by surprise. [ [http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=30082 IMRA - Saturday, July 15, 2006 Historical Survey of Israeli Leaders: Will Rockets Fall? ] ] Reactions have been mixed. [ [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3264980,00.html Peres: Enough with Qassam hysteria - Israel News, Ynetnews ] ] The Israeli Ministry of Defense views the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat." [ [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3222783,00.html Defense Ministry: Trade with China resumed] , Ynetnews, 3 January 2006] The rockets are fired largely at civilian populations. The Israel Defence Force has reacted to the deployment of the Qassam rockets by deploying the Red Color early warning system in Sderot, Ashkelon and other at-risk targets. The system consists of an advanced radar that detects rockets as they are being launched. Loudspeakers warn civilians to take cover approximately fifteen seconds before impact in an attempt to minimize the threat posed by the rockets. A system called Iron Dome, designed to intercept the rockets before they can hit their targets, is currently under development and is expected to be operational by 2010.

one of the rockets hit the electricity station in Ashkelon and caused electricity shortages in several areas. In another attack, a rocket similar to a Qassam hit an army basic training camp and injured more than 70 Israeli soldiers.

Qassam rocket specifications

Qassam rockets are fueled by mixture of sugar and potassium nitrate, which is a widely available fertilizer. The warhead is filled with TNT and urea nitrate.

Similar rockets

Other Palestinian terrorist groups also developed home-made rockets, but they are much less common than Hamas' Qassam rocket. The media generally refer to all Palestinian high-trajectory rockets as "Qassam rockets" or "Qassam missiles", while they call most rockets fired from Lebanon "Katyushas", as a Katyusha and Grads are not a specific models but a generic class of rockets (most of the rockets fired from Lebanon were manufactured by China [ [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/18/global14408.htm Questions & Answers: 122mm cluster munition rockets (Human Rights Watch, 18-10-2006) ] ] ).

* Hamas - Qassam rocket (models 1, 2 and 3)
* Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Al Quds 101 & 2
* Popular Resistance Committees - al Nasser-3
* Tanzim - Saria-2
* Fatah - Kafah

References

ee also

*Hamas
*List of Qassam rocket attacks
*Adnan al-Ghoul
*Katyusha
* Grad

External links

* [http://www.sderotmedia.com about the Qassam-sderotmedia ]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas-qassam.htm GlobalSecurity.org - Qassam Rocket]
* [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,202159,00.html The Homemade Rocket That Could Change The Mideast] – By Tony Karon, TIME Online Edition (10 February, 2002)
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/02/12/qassam.facts/index.html Qassam-2 missile a wild card in Mideast conflict] – CNN (March 5, 2002)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3845731.stm Gaza rockets kill two in Israel] , BBC article (June 28, 2004)
* [http://www.weaponsurvey.com/missilesrockets.htm Palestinian Weapons Production and Smuggling : Missiles & Rockets]
* [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,531578,00.html A Visit to a Gaza Rocket Factory] , by Ulrike Putz, der Spiegel international (January 29, 2008, in English)
* [http://www.zionism-israel.com/vic/sderot1.htm Victims of Qassam rockets in Sderot]
* [http://www.rocketboom.com/stories/rb_07_jul_09 Rocketboom visits Sderot]
* [http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/weapons/q0279.shtml Katyusha & Qassam Rockets] on www.aerospaceweb.org