Pottering About Gaza

.

^

Does Hamas Really Kill Its Own Civilians?

Gaza Strip NGO Safety Office Project (GANSO) is a project of CARE International, funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) with the aim of providing the information and analysis the NGO community needs in order to implement humanitarian projects safely.

CARE International is an international, non profit, secular confederation of 12 member organisations committed to fighting global poverty and delivering emergency aid in times of humanitarian crisis. CARE International’s Secretariat is based in Geneva and the 12 members work in more than 60 countries around the world.

I decided to check, from the beginning of the year, any reports of Gazan civilians killed by Hamas' own rocket fire after posting this.

The results:-

9-22 January

out of 36 Home Made Rockets (HMRs)/Mortars, 19 landed in Gaza.

23 January-5 February

50% fell inside Gaza.

6-19 February

no mention.

20 February-5 March

6 dropped in Gaza.

6-19 March

24 out of 64 firings dropped short/exploded on-site.

20 March-2 April.

9 civilians injured and 1 death due to accidents involving explosive devices and unexploded ordnance.

3-16 April.

3 fatalities and 6 injuries due to accidental explosions.

17-30 April.

8 rockets dropped short out of 24.

I think the point is made: a significant percentage of rockets and mortars fired off by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fall short, never making it across the Green Line and do cause fatalities and injuries among civilians.

Over 1350 rockets have so far, at least, been fired at Israel since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge.

How many of those fell short and caused death, injury and destruction of property?

Okay, the latest report does not at all detail any.  Is that believable?

___________

P.S.

I've now been informed that Israel has counted 106 rockets falling short in Gaza so far (thanks EOZ).

and IDF finally caught up with me:

P.S.

There was this previously.

^

The Face That Launched Over 60 Rockets

Here she is, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned :

She is Qatar’s First Lady the wife of Qatar's Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani who visited Hamastan Gaza yesterday.

I guess the Hamasniks had to shoot off something.

^

Forget Bombs, Jerusalem To Be Rocketed

Last night, Shlomo Harari appeared on the Channel One TV late-night news diary program, "M'Hayom L'Machar" and informed a startled Dudu Witztum, the moderator, that Jerusalem is the next target of Gaza rockets.

LBD sent me searching for this rocket, which was already used against Israel by the Hezbollah in 2006:

the 333-millimeter Fajr-5 missile has a range of about 45 miles. Production of the Fajr-3 missile, with an estimated range of 45 km, was estimated to have started in 1991. Iran had for some time been manufacturing the Naze'at (Iran-130), similar to the Shahin series. Fajr-3 has the same caliber, range and warhead weight as three known North Korean systems.  The Fajr-5 missile, which is launched from a mobile platform, reportedly has a range of between 60-70 kilometers. The missile was constructed by the Iranians, reportedly with help from North Korea and China. Like the Katyusha rocket and the Scud missile, however, at its maximum range it is only accurate to within a radius of around one kilometer. There are unconfirmed though plausible reports that Iran has tested a chemical warhead for the Fajr-5

Accurate or not, I think Israel should be prepared.

However, the rumor that Israeli scientists are working on a method of creating a tsunami wave and then channeling it at a specific beach target, like Gaza, is just that, a rumor.  But I understand that some of the researchers are claiming that even if it is innaccurate, it would fall under the definition of "proportionate response weapon".  Or is it still Purim?

UPDATE

This just in from IDF spokesperson.  C-704.

^

I'm Mixed Up Or, A Matter of Arab Logic

With a "Kippah tip" (that's the kosher lingo for Hat-tip) to Charles of LGF - here - I was directed to this statement, stemming from the trial of the Iraqi show thrower:

defense attorney Dhia al-Saadi moved that the charges be dismissed, saying al-Zeidi's act was "an expression of freedom" and not a crime.

"It was an act of throwing a shoe, not a rocket," he told
the court. "It was meant as an insult to the occupation."

Let me see, if I am inferring correctly, firing off a rocket is a crime and even if there is "occupation", it is preferable to throw shows, not fire off rockets, mortars and missiles.

So, why doesn't the Arab world, or at least Iraq, condemn the Hamas in Gaza?

Or do I not grasp Arab logic well?

Gee Whiz, Mark. Now What?

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Thursday’s firing showed that the Palestinians were improving their ability to use the weapon and to exploit its range, which could endanger a quarter of a million Israelis, and he called on Egypt to do more to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.

“It’s a sign of things to come and an issue of great concern,” Mr. Regev said. “These rockets are not homemade and are smuggled in, and our concern is not one or two Katyushas, but a whole range of weapons, including antitank and antiaircraft rockets.”

Mark, ask your PM, not the Egyptians, for what to do.