Eleven weeks into war, rockets from Gaza continue to fly

News Desk - The Cradle

Last week, dozens of rockets rained down on Tel Aviv despite Israel’s claims that it has seized control of strategic areas in the Strip

Hamas and other groups in the Gaza Strip have fired around 12,000 rockets into Israel since the start of the war in October, and are still firing at occupied cities after more than two months of an assault aimed at wiping out the military capabilities of the resistance. 

“Hamas and other armed groups have fired about 12,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel, a quarter of them on 7 October,” New York Times (NYT) reported on 27 December, citing figures from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. 

Hamas and other factions continue to fire rockets at Israel almost every day, “aiming deep” and striking its “biggest cities,” NYT added, despite the fact that Israel is fighting to dismantle the resistance. 

While the rocket barrages are not as frequent as at the start of the war, the launches indicate “the size of Hamas’ arsenal and its continued ability to menace cities far from Gaza.”

More than 3,000 rockets were fired in the first hours of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October, according to Israeli estimates. 

Between the outbreak of the war and mid-November, another 7,000 rockets were fired, Israeli media said. Tel Aviv says 15 have been killed and around 700 wounded as a result of the rocket attacks. 

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement’s Quds Brigade fired over 100 rockets and mortar shells at the Nahal Oz settlement in the Gaza envelope on 27 December. 

Last week, dozens of Palestinian rockets rained down on Tel Aviv and its surroundings, indicating that Hamas and the military capacity of the resistance has remained intact. 

The most recent rocket attacks on Tel Aviv “punctured the hope that the military’s offensive has damaged” Hamas’ ability to fire rockets at Israel. 

The attacks by Hamas on Israel occurred despite the fact that the Israeli army is operating deep within north and south Gaza. 

Rockets also struck the occupied city of Jerusalem earlier in December for the first time since the previous month, sending Israelis running toward shelters. 

“If we don’t diminish Hamas’ rocket-firing capabilities, Hamas will continue firing rockets at Israelis,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on 27 December. 

Tel Aviv claims to be in control of a number of strategic locations in the Gaza Strip.

Nonetheless, Israeli troops are ambushed and killed on a daily basis by resistance fighters, who emerge from the tunnels that Israel has not been able to destroy.