Graphic: how Hamas's arsenal threatens Israel

Hamas has unveiled an arsenal of missiles capable of penetrating more than 30 miles into Israel, forcing the country’s home front command to expand its rocket-warning system.

Israeli officials confirmed today that Hamas was firing 122mm Grad artillery rockets at southern Israeli communities. The rockets, which are manufactured in more than 50 countries and widely available on the black market, have hit targets several southern Israeli cities.

“These are the longest-range rockets that have been fired to date as far as we are concerned,” said Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

Palestinian militants had previously fired Qassam rockets, which are crudely assembled out of materials available in Gaza, and have a range of 10-12km.

“We have known for some time that they are smuggling these higher grade rockets, which is why the objective of our current operation in Gaza is to destroy the weapons cache and stop the barrage of all rockets from Gaza,” said an Israeli MP who serves on the Knesset subcommittee on defense and intelligence.

An Israeli intelligence official added that Hamas has also acquired dozens of the Iranian-made Fajr-3, which have an even longer range than the Grad.

Most of the weapons were being smuggled into the Gaza Strip via tunnels, he said, though some have been shipped in by sea.

While the exact number and type of weaponry currently used by Palestinian militants in Gaza is unclear, Israeli intelligence experts believe that Hamas has thousands of Qassams and several hundred of the medium-sized Grad rockets.

Israeli air strikes have largely targeted stockpiles of the Grad rockets, which are much more accurate and deadly than the Qassams. While the most advanced Qassam can travel up to seven miles containing a 10kg war head, Grad missiles have a range 20 miles with up to 20kg war heads.

Yuval Diskin, the Shin Bet security chief, said today that Israeli air strikes had taken out one-third of Hamas’ rocket arsenal, and had “hit Hamas like never before.” Nearly 400 Palestinians have been killd and some 1,600 wounded since Israel began it’s offensive on the Gaza Strip Saturday. The United Nations said at least 60 of those killed were civilians, but stressed it was a conservative estimate. Four Israelis have been killed by rocket attacks.

The range of the new rockets has put more than 860,000 Israelis in a number of large cities, including Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba under threat. They fall short, however, of the 50-mile distance to the major cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Dimona, home to one of Israel’s nuclear reactors.

Streets in communities across the south were largely empty as citizens were warned to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings. Schools and major events, including weddings and new year’s celebrations, were cancelled as citizens were told to prepare themselves for a fight that would “last weeks, and not days”. Sara Mizrahi, a 43-year-old mother of four in Beersheba said she was surprised to find herself on the frontline of rockets.

“It is starting to feel like the Second Lebanon War. We have always treated Hamas like a guerilla organization, but they have clearly become more advanced. We are scared that they have more surprises for us. I never thought their rockets would get this close to my home.”

Hamas insists that it still has surprises in store for Israel and continued to file a barrage of weapons at southern Israeli communities lining the Gaza Strip. Israeli security experts said that Hamas was trying to acquire the Iranian made Fajr-5, which would put the major metropolitan cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem within rocket range.

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