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 five months of 2008 alone, Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza have fired more than 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 more than 4,000 rockets and mortars.

Shot indiscriminately, the rockets have hit homes, schools and synagogues, injured hundreds. Since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, rockets and mortars have murdered 15 Israelis – including two in early May 2008 – and injured hundreds. 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. On May 14, a Katyusha rocket slammed into a shopping mall in Ashkelon, wounding dozens of people, including a two-year-old girl. Israeli police commander Maj. Gen. Uriel Bar-Lev said bomb experts had determined that the rocket “has Iranian fingerprints on it.” Hamas lauded the attack.

Hamas’ violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last year 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 two-year-old girl, 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.

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. In his speech to the Knesset on May 15, 2008, President Bush said America believes “that nations have a right to defend themselves and that no nation should ever be forced to negotiate with killers pledged to its destruction.”