A long-range Katyusha rocket was for the first time fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Tuesday, raising fears that Palestinian terror groups had obtained additional weaponry that the IDF has yet to face in its war against Gaza-based terror. The Katyusha rocket, the army said, was a "clear escalation" on the Gaza battlefield and demanded a quick and harsh response. Unlike the homemade short-range Kassam rockets frequently launched at Israel, Katyushas have a range of over 20 kilometers and can carry over 20 kilograms of explosives. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for firing the Katyusha, which landed south of Ashkelon.
Since the disengagement from the Gaza Strip this past summer, the defense establishment has raised concerns that Palestinians would succeed in smuggling Katyusha rockets into Gaza from Egypt. The Rafah terminal, officials have said, was left "wide open" by European observers and the Palestinians, allowing for the entry of senior Iranian and Syrian terror suspects. The Katyusha fired Tuesday, military officials estimated, was smuggled into Gaza over the Egyptian border.
Egyptian soldiers have taken up positions along the border since Israel pulled out of the Philadelphia Corridor, but to Israel's dismay they have not clamped down on weapons smuggling into Gaza. "With Global Jihad camps based around the corner in Egypt," one senior officer said, "it was only a matter of time before the Palestinians got their hands on Katyusha rockets and other new weaponry."
The Katyusha fired on Tuesday, the army said, had a 122mm diameter and was larger than the rockets fired by the Hizbullah at communities along the northern border in December. The army first believed the projectile fired Tuesday morning was a Kassam rocket but shortly after inspecting the rocket police sappers determined that it was a Katyusha. Palestinian terror groups have for years tried smuggling Katyusha rockets into the Gaza Strip. In 2002, several dozen rockets were seized aboard the Karine A weapons ship intercepted by IDF troops as it made its way to Gaza. |