1975
On 3 May 1975 at 4:15 am, two 107mm rockets struck Jerusalem's central area, not far from the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.[44]

2001–06
Main articles: List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2001 and 2002–2006

A house in Sderot hit by a Qassam rocket

This map shows the rocket ranges as they relate to the population of southern Israel, and how much time people have to take cover given the distance the rocket travels.
Rockets were originally fired mainly on Sderot, an Israeli city on the border of the Gaza Strip.[45] Sderot's population density is slightly greater than that of the Gaza Strip. Due to this, and despite the imperfect aim of these homemade projectiles, they have caused deaths and injuries, as well as significant damage to homes and property, psychological distress and emigration from the city. Ninety percent of the city's residents have had a rocket exploding in their street or an adjacent one.[33]

On 28 March 2006, while Israelis went to general elections, the first Katyusha rocket from Gaza was fired at Israel. The rocket fell near the Itfah kibbutz on the outskirts of Ashkelon and caused no damage or casualties. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.[46][47] Several months later, On 5 July 2006, a rocket hit the center of Ashkelon for the first time, striking an empty high school. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the attack, which was claimed by Hamas, an "escalation of unprecedented gravity",[48][49] but the event was quickly overshadowed by the 2006 Lebanon War.

On 25 May 2006 the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades group that published on April 2006 that they had been launching long range missile on Israeli cities,[50] sent a letter to Ramattan that they had developed chemical and biological weapons and threaten with chemical warfare.[51][52][53][54][55] later that month report of use of chemical weapons by that group had been published in the media.[56]

On 8 June, an event occurred that formed part of a 'chronology of crisis' leading to the most intense barrage of rocket attacks during 2006.[57] Although Israel acknowledged that Hamas was largely sticking to the February 2005 cease-fire (in Fatah-controlled Gaza), it recommenced assassinations of Hamas leaders with the killing of Jamal Abu Samhadana.[58] The Israeli military said Samhadana and the other targeted militants were planning an attack on Israel.[59] The next day, in response to the assassination and calls for revenge, Islamic Jihad fired rockets at Israel, and a few hours later the IDF retaliated in turn with a bombardment of launch sites on a Gaza beach near Beit Lahia.[60] During the time span of the IDF bombardment, a civilian Gaza family, the Ghalias, was all but wiped out in an explosion.[61] In response to the assassination of its Ministry official and the civilian 'beach' deaths, Hamas announced that it was going to recommence rocket attacks.[62] This was followed by a series of mutual attacks and reprisals between the IDF and Gaza factions, culminating in the abduction of two suspected Hamas members, and, on the following day, of IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit.[57][58] The latter event gave rise to Operation Summer Rains,[63] as a result of which Gaza's electricity network was damaged,[64] and 402 Palestinians and 7 Israelis were killed.[65]

2007
Main article: List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2007
On 5 January 2007 Palestinian militants fired a Katyusha rocket at Ashkelon. The Katyusha has a range of 18–20 kilometers, and the rocket was fired from the Al-Atatra region in the northern Gaza Strip, traveling about 17 kilometers before reaching its target. No one was hurt in the Katyusha attack.[66] On 7 October 2007 the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for a Grad-type Katyusha that hit Netivot. During this period, Katyusha attacks from Gaza were rare.[67]

2008–09
Main articles: List of rocket and mortar attacks in Israel in 2008 and 2009

A Grad missile hits Beersheba, 2009.
In January 2008 the border between Gaza and Egypt was breached by Hamas. It allowed them to bring in Russian and Iranian made rockets with a larger range.

In the first half of 2008, the number of attacks rose sharply, consistently totaling several hundred per month. In addition, Ashkelon was hit many times during this period by Grad rockets.

On 26 February 2008 a Grad rocket hit the hospital grounds of the Barzilai Medical Center, approximately 200 meters away from the neonatal intensive-care unit. As it is only 6 miles away from the Gaza border, it is the frequently the target of rocket attacks, with 140 rockets fired at it over the course of one weekend.[68][69][70]


Israeli boy disabled by Palestinian rocket fire.[71][72]
After reports of shells with white phosphorus[73] launched against southern parts of Israel on 14 January 2009, Israeli medical emergency forces are now taught how to treat white phosphorus victims and are ordered to have equipment to handle white phosphorus.[74][75][76][77]

From 19 June to 19 December 2008, an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was in effect. During this time, only several dozen rockets were fired at Israel, a marked decrease from the pre-ceasefire period. Hamas imprisoned some of those firing rockets.[78]

During the Gaza War, Palestinian militants began to deploy improved Qassam and factory-made rockets with a range of 40 kilometers.[79] Rockets reached major Israeli cities Ashdod,[80] Beersheba and Gedera for the first time, putting one-eighth of Israel's population in rocket range[81] and raising concerns about the safety of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Israel's largest population center,[82][83] as well as the Negev Nuclear Research Center.[84] According to Israeli authorities, 571 rockets and 205 mortar shells landed in Israel during the 22 days of the conflict.[24]


An Israeli woman injured by a Hamas Grad rocket fired at Beer Sheva from Gaza.
On 18 January 2009, following a unilateral ceasefire declaration by Israel, Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced that they would cease rocket attacks for one week.[85] After that, rockets and mortar attacks continued almost daily through February.[86][87]

2010
Main article: List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2010
According to the Israel Security Agency's annual report, Palestinians carried out 150 rocket launches and 215 mortar launches at Israel during the year. This represented a decrease in both types of attacks compared to 2009, in which there were 569 rocket launches and 289 mortar launches.[88][89]

The report said Iran succeeded in smuggling 1,000 mortar shells and hundreds of short-range rockets into the Gaza Strip over the course of the year.[88] The security agency also warned that the Sinai Desert was turning into Hamas's "backyard" for operations and storage of arms. 2010 saw two unique instances of Hamas firing rockets from the Sinai at the southern Israeli port city of Eilat.[88]

On 18 March, Thai national Manee Singmueangphon was killed by a Palestinian Qassam rocket launched at a greenhouse in Netiv Haasara. Both Ansar al Sunna, an Islamist group thought to have links with al-Qaeda in Iraq, and al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, claimed responsibility for the attack.

On 30 July, a Hamas Grad missile hit a residential neighborhood in the heart of the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. No one was physically injured, but eight people suffered from shock and surrounding apartment buildings sustained damage.

On 2 August, Hamas militants in Egypt fired seven Iranian-made Grad missiles at the resort city of Eilat in the extreme south of Israel. Overshot missiles hit the Jordanian city of Aqaba, killing one person and wounding several.

On 20 October, an accidental explosion occurred at a Hamas Qassam rocket training site in the densely crowded Tel As-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Thirteen people were injured by flying shrapnel, including five children and three women.

The Hamas are using their wives and children as shield, israel should disregard any criticism and weaken the Hamas once and for all. You can't fire rockets at means expect me to fold my arms, NO. Israel have the right to defend itself