Residents of the Israeli towns near the Gaza border, including Sderot, have for years been on the front lines of Hamas’ terror war against the Jewish state. In the first four months of 2008 alone, Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza have fired approximately 800 rockets and mortars at the Jewish state, forcing Israel to take increased measures to defend itself. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in the summer of 2005, Palestinian terrorists fired nearly 4,000 rockets.

Shot indiscriminately, the rockets have hit homes, schools and synagogues, injured hundreds and killed nine people. The Israeli Red Dawn warning system gives residents only about 15 seconds to take cover from an incoming rocket attack. In addition to the crude Qassam rockets that have a range of five to seven miles, Hamas is also using more sophisticated weaponry. Terrorists have fired dozens of Katyusha rockets, believed to have been manufactured in Iran, at Ashkelon from more than 10 miles away, damaging homes and hospitals in attacks marking the farthest north rockets have ever been fired into Israel from Gaza.

While most of the attacks have hit civilian areas, 69 Israeli soldiers based in the western Negev were wounded on Sept. 11, 2007, when a Qassam rocket hit near their tent as they were sleeping. A spokesman from the terrorist group Hamas called the attack a “victory from God.” An eight-year-old boy recently lost his leg after a rocket struck his home in Sderot, while two Israeli girls playing in the yard outside their home were injured by a rocket attack in early February. Just weeks ago, a 47-year-old father of four was killed in Sderot when a Qassam rocket exploded nearby.

Hamas’ recent violent takeover of the Gaza Strip has only exacerbated the threat to Israel. The Iranian-backed terrorist group continues to smuggle massive amounts of weapons through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel has demonstrated extreme restraint as its citizens face bombardment, but may be forced to take stronger steps to forestall the growing threat to its civilian population.

Rocket Attacks Against Israeli Civilians Are Increasing

The International Committee of the Red Cross has stressed that using rockets deliberately to target civilians is a “serious violation of international law that cannot be justified in any circumstance.”

Hamas has claimed responsibility for many of the hundreds of rockets fired at Israel in recent months, injuring dozens and killing, among others, a 32-year-old woman, a 36-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy in Sderot, a city of 20,000 people located less than three miles from Gaza.

Qassam rockets have improved in range and accuracy as new materials are smuggled into Gaza via tunnels under the Egyptian border. Fired from northern Gaza, a Qassam rocket can reach the Israeli industrial town of Ashkelon, home to 120,000 people and critical infrastructure.

Hamas Amassing Deadly Arsenal of Heavy Weapons

Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, the terrorist group Hamas has overseen a massive arms buildup, turning the coastal strip into a base for launching attacks against the Jewish state. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida has said his group will “strike at the enemy anywhere in Palestine, whether with suicide attacks or operations against soldiers.” Threats such as Obeida’s have been followed by deadly attacks. Since 2000, Hamas has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel, murdering more than 250 people.

In addition to preparing for a wave of suicide bombings in Israel, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza are also smuggling weapons and constructing fortifications.  According to Palestinian and Israeli security sources cited recently by the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, terrorists are operating 15 weapons smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza.

In 2007, according to the IDF, terrorists smuggled into Gaza significant amounts of weaponry, including 33 tons of military-grade high explosives, 20,000 assault rifles, 38 long-range Qassam missiles, 12 anti-aircraft guided missiles, 95 anti-tank rocket launchers, 410 anti-tank rockets and 20 precision-guided anti-tank missiles. Hamas is also using advanced propellants—smuggled into Gaza during the recent destruction of the border wall with Egypt—allowing rockets to be stockpiled for longer durations and terrorists to fire large number of rockets in a single barrage.

Israel Has Demonstrated Tremendous Restraint

Like every other sovereign nation, Israel has the right and duty to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks. The Jewish state has demonstrated extreme restraint in the face of ongoing rocket bombardment.

Israel’s military response has been carefully calibrated to reduce rocket fire and ensure the safety of Israeli citizens while at the same time making every effort to limit Palestinian civilian casualties.

The United States has consistently backed Israel’s right to take preventative action against Palestinian terrorism. When "upwards of 150 rockets a day are landed on your territory and injuring or potentially injuring your citizens, you have a right to defend yourself," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino on January 22, 2008. "Imagine if that was happening here. We would certainly defend ourselves."