Hamas, Jihad Enhance Rockets

Hamas and Islamic Jihad rocket strikes have reached unprecedented ranges. They said rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have flown more than 100 kilometers, a 33 percent increase from the last mini-war in 2012.

“Hamas has led this round of violence so it can target and damage our home front,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said.

On July 8, a Hamas rocket struck the northern Israeli city of Hadera, nearly 100 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. Later, Hamas identified the rocket as the R-160, believed to have been developed in cooperation by Iran.

Hamas and Jihad were said to have fired the M-75 rocket, a variant of Iran’s Fajr-5 and which reached the Israeli cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Officials said the Palestinian forces enhanced the M-75 over the last year with Iranian assistance.

The Israel Air Force has deployed its Iron Dome missile and rocket defense system to intercept Palestinian projectiles. On July 8, Iron Dome was said to have intercepted at least 23 Palestinian rockets, which targeted a range of cities in southern and central Israel.

“In recent days, Hamas terrorists have fired hundreds of rockets at Israel’s civilians,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said. “No other country lives under such a threat, and no country would accept such a threat.”

The Israeli military said it would mobilize up to 40,000 reserve troops in what could constitute preparations for a ground invasion. At the same time, the air force has intensified attacks on the Gaza Strip.

“We have been instructed by the political echelon to hit Hamas hard,” Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mordechai Almoz said.

The military also said it foiled a Hamas infiltration of the coastal base of Zikim. Four Hamas fighters armed with grenades were said to have been intercepted and killed by the Israel Navy. Later, the air force struck a vehicle and killed the commander of Hamas’ naval commando unit, Mohammed Saban.

“The event appears to be over,” another Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, said.

The military said it was targeting Hamas commanders as well as rocket facilities in the Gaza Strip. They included the home of Mohammed Sbat, identified as head of a rocket launching network around the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

“If we need to go inside [Gaza] in a ground operation, then we will do it,” Israeli Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said. “These options exist.”

Israel Uses Combat UAVs

Israel has used combat unmanned aerial vehicles in the missile war in the Gaza Strip, a human rights group said.

he Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the Israel Air Force was directing combat UAV operations throughout the Gaza Strip. The center said the UAVs were firing air-to-ground rockets to force Palestinians to evacuate their homes, later destroyed by fixed-wing aircraft.

“At approximately 01:15, [July 8] an Israel drone fired three missiles in about 15 minutes at a house belonging to Mahmoud Eid Salama Al Hashash in Al Hashash area in the northwest of Rafah,” the center said. “The 150-square-meter house, where 13 individuals live, was completely destroyed.”

The center did not identify the UAV. The center quoted Al Hashash as saying that the first missile fired by the UAV landed in the yard and subsequent missiles destroyed the house.

Industry sources said the Israel Air Force has equipped several UAVs for combat operations. They were said to have included the Hermes-450 UAV by Elbit Systems as well as the Heron-1 by Israel Aerospace Industries. Israel has never acknowledged combat UAV missions.

Israeli combat UAV operations were reported around such cities as Beit Lahiya, Gaza City, Khan Yunis and Rafah. The center said an Israeli UAV fired a “warning missile” toward a 320-square meter building east of Khan Yunis and then warned its owner to flee.

“A few minutes later, Israeli fighter-jets bombarded the house, destroying it completely,” the center said.

An Israeli UAV also fired a warning missile toward the home of Amin Al Ghalban east of Khanis. The center said several minutes later an Israeli fighter-jet fired a missile and damaged the home. No casualties were reported.

“At approximately 2 a.m., an Israeli drone fired three warning missiles at a 170-square-meter house belonging to Samer Ismail Abu Daqqa, in which six individuals live, in Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis,” the center said. “The Israeli military had already called Abu Daqqa’s wife on her mobile phone ordering the evacuation of the house.”

Hamas Coordinates With Gaza Militias Hamas has reported coordination with Palestinian militias in the latest mini-war with Israel.

Hamas sources said the ruling movement joined Palestinian militia allies in attacks on Israel. They said Hamas was also facilitating operations by the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad, with the largest medium-range rocket arsenal in the Gaza Strip.

“We agree with the factions and forces, and there is a high level of organization among us,” Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida said.

On July 8, Hamas reported long-range rocket attacks on such Israeli cities as Haifa, Hadera, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The military wing said it would end attacks in exchange for Israeli concessions, including the release of Palestinian prisoners.

“Israel must stop sabotaging the intra-Palestinian reconciliation,” Hamas said in a video.

The sources said Egypt has not made progress toward the renewal of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire. They said Egyptian mediation was hampered by Cairo’s poor relations with Hamas and other Gaza forces.

Hamas sources said all major Palestinian militias were joining in rocket and missile fire. They cited Jihad, Popular Resistance Committees and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. “Hamas can face the war militarily as an organization, and it has capacities,” a senior Hamas source told the London-based Al Monitor. “It has developed its defense forces and missiles more than before. There won’t be a war, but there aren’t any initiatives to solve this escalation soon.”