This escalation continues the trend of increasing rocket launches recorded last month. It also reflects the feverish pace at which Hamas and other jihad groups in Gaza have been stockpiling weapons, taking advantage of the relative calm as Islamic law intends it: an opportunity for the jihadists to regroup and re-arm for the next round.
Accordingly, they have 'obtained more than 10,000 rockets and missiles – including a large stockpile of Iranian Fajr-5 rockets that can reach Tel Aviv,' and Hamas has smuggled in three times more explosives since the Egyptian revolution than it brought in during all of 2010.
The use of Grad rockets is the tip of the iceberg, as longer-range rockets allow storage of the weapons farther back from the border, and increase the odds that Israeli action will involve more of the Gaza Strip the next time Hamas bites off more than it can chew in an attack on Israel. And the jihadists will again claim victim status and plead for yet another ceasefire. Read more »
