As violence spread, the group started producing rudimentary “Qassam” rockets. Powered partly by molten sugar, the projectiles stayed aloft for just a few miles, flew wildly and caused little damage, often landing inside Gaza itself.
After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas assembled a secret supply line from longtime patrons Iran and Syria, according to Israel’s military. Longer-range rockets, powerful explosives, metal and machinery came across Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Experts say the rockets were shipped to Sudan, trucked across Egypt’s vast desert and smuggled through a warren of narrow tunnels beneath the Sinai Peninsula.
In 2007, when Hamas fighters pushed the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza and took over governing the coastal strip, Israel and Egypt imposed their tight blockade.
EXPLAINER: How did Hamas grow its arsenal to strike Israel?
by Isabel Debre, The Associated Press
Posted May 20, 2021 6:42 am EDT
Last Updated May 20, 2021 at 6:44 am EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) In this fourth war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, the Islamic militant group has fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, some hitting deeper in Israeli territory and with greater accuracy than ever before.
The unprecedented barrages reaching as far north as the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv, coupled with drone launches and even an attempted submarine attack, have put on vivid display a homegrown arsenal that has only expanded despite the choke hold of a 14-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade.
In this fourth war between Israel and Gaza s Hamas rulers, the Islamic militant group has fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, some hitting deeper in Israeli territory and with greater accuracy than ever before.
EXPLAINER: How did Hamas grow its arsenal to strike Israel? ksat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ksat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
How did Hamas grow its arsenal to strike Israel? stripes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stripes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.