13-Dec-09: Today's rocket attack

The Jerusalem Post reports this morning that two more Qassam rockets were fired into Israel by Gazan Palestinian-Arab terrorists. One landed in an open area in the western Negev. The other crashed into the Hamas-Gazan-Palestinian-Arab side of the security fence. As far as is known, no injuries resulted, though this was plainly not the intention of the terrorists and their many, many supporters.

Afternoon postscript: The rocket which landed on the Israeli side is now identified as a Russian-made S5K, the type used in battle in Iran and Afghanistan. It's depicted in the Wikipedia photo above.

"The IDF said it was the first time this type of weapon has been fired from the territory", says Haaretz. But this is probably not so. According to Wikipedia:

"On Sunday 6th January 2009, the Israel Defense Forces identified a rocket fired at Israel earlier in the day by militants in the Gaza Strip as a Russian-made S5K... According to the IDF, the rocket fired at Kibbutz Alumim in the Negev marked the first time militants in Gaza have used this type of weapon. Although this type is intended to be launched aerially, said the IDF, Gaza militants on Sunday chose to launch their rocket from on-the-ground. Unlike a Qassam rocket, the S5K contains more explosives, but is less precise."

In other words, precisely what you expect from terrorists: enhanced firepower to maximize the damage, and no worthwhile precision since who cares who gets injured or killed? And if, as appears to be the case this morning, the explosive lands in your own lines,so what? This war of terror has never been about protecting and defending the families of the terrorists or their society. Nothing could be further from the goals of such barbarians.