The remnants of an exploded Qassam rocket that was fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel.

The Qassam rocket (also Kassam) is a simple steel rocket filled with explosives, produced by the Palestinian organization Hamas. Three models have been used. Although they are sometimes erroneously referred to as missiles, they are free-flight artillery rockets lacking any guidance system. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x683, 379 KB) Summary Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hits southern Ashkelon in Israel. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x683, 379 KB) Summary Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hits southern Ashkelon in Israel. ... A Soyuz rocket, at Baikonur launch pad. ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement,[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization. ... It has been suggested that Guided missile be merged into this article or section. ... M270 MLRS. Rocket artillery is artillery equipped with rocket launchers instead of conventional guns or mortars. ... A guidance system is a device or group of devices used to navigate a ship, aircraft, missile, rocket, satellite, or other craft. ...

Qassams are sometimes referred to as "homemade" or "primitive", but critics dispute this, maintaining that they require "both expertise and dedicated locations to manufacture," and that "these rockets are manufactured in industrial areas or have been transported across the porous Gaza-Egyptian border."^[1]

The Gaza Strip has been separated from Israel by a security barrier since 1996, which frustrated infiltration into Israel. During its 2005 unilateral disengagement plan, Israel withdrew its civilian and military presence, retaining control over airspace and maritime access. While Qassam rockets were fired regularly even prior to the Israeli Disengagement, the absence of access to targets on the ground has elevated the importance of the rockets, since they were designed to fly over the barrier and strike Israeli targets outside the Strip. Palestinian militants have had difficulty establishing rocket-producing and launching infrastructure in the West Bank.^[2] Gaza Strip Barrier near the Karni Crossing The Israeli Gaza Strip barrier is a separation barrier along the armistice line of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War between the Gaza Strip and Israel. ... Israels unilateral disengagement plan (Hebrew: תוכנית ההתנתקות Tokhnit HaHitnatkut or תכנית ההינתקות Tokhnit HaHinatkut in the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law), also known as the Disengagement plan, Gaza Pull-Out plan, and Hitnatkut) was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government and enacted in August 2005, to remove all...

History of the Qassam

Qassam rockets are named after the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas, itself named after an Islamist preacher and militant Izz ad-Din al-Qassam who led a Palestinian militant group during the 1930s. According to Hamas, the Qassam rocket was first developed by Nidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat and produced under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul, the "Father of the Qassam" who was assassinated by the Israeli army in October 2004. Hamas, acronym of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Arabic: Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas is also Arabic for zeal or courage) is a Palestinian Islamist paramilitary and political organization, regarded by some as a militant organization and by others as a terrorist group. ... Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement,[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization. ... -1... Nidal Fat’hi Rabah Farahat (April 8, 1971 - February 16, 2005) was the creator of the Qassam rocket, a homemade weapon produced by the Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades. ... Adnan Al-Ghoul was the assistant of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. ...

Qassams were first fired at Israeli civilian targets in October 2001. However, due to their short range, all landed inside the Gaza Strip, many hitting the Israeli Gush Katif settlement bloc. The first Qassam to land in Israeli territory was launched on February 10, 2002. The first time an Israeli city was hit was on March 5, 2002, when two rockets struck Sderot. Some rockets have hit as far as the edge of Ashkelon. The total number of Qassam rockets launched exceeded 1000 by June 9, 2006. During the year 2006 alone, 1000+ rockets were launched. 2001 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Events: October 2 - Bankruptcy of Swissair. ... Homes alongside a sand dune in Neve Dekalim. ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... This article is about the day. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Sederot (Hebrew: (help·info); unofficially also spelled Sderot) is a city in the Southern District of Israel in Israel. ... Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן (Standard) AÅ¡qÉ™lon Arabic عسقلان Founded in 1951 Government City Also Spelled Ashqelon (officially) District South Population 105,100 (2004) Jurisdiction 55,000 dunams (55 km²) Mayor Roni Mahatzri Ashkelon (Hebrew: ‎; Tiberian Hebrew ʾAÅ¡qÉ™lôn; Arabic: ‎  ; Latin: Ascalon) is a city in the western Negev, in the... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The introduction of the Qassam rocket took Israeli politicians and military experts by surprise.^[3] Reactions have been mixed.^[4] The Israeli Ministry of Defense views the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat."^[5] The rockets are fired largely at civilian populations. There is some evidence of psychological damage to children in the effected areas, particularly in Sderot. The IDF has reacted to the deployment of the Qassam rockets by deploying the Red Color early warning system in Sderot, Ashkelon and other at-risk targets. The system consists of an advanced radar that detects rockets as they are being launched. Loudspeakers warn civilians to take cover approximately twenty seconds before impact in an attempt to minimize the threat posed by the rockets. The Ministry of Defense (or Ministry of Defence) of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats. ... Emblem of the IDF The Israel Defense Forces are part of the Israeli Security Forces. ... The Red Dawn (Hebrew: , transl. ...

Since the introduction in 2001 Qassam rockets have caused 12 deaths.^[6][7] The IDF believes that Qassam rockets are becoming more and more advanced in terms of range and accuracy and that rockets comparable to Katyusha rockets and other more sophisticated weapons will soon be introduced.^[8] Katyusha multiple rocket launchers are a type of rocket artillery built and fielded by the Soviet Union beginning in the Second World War. ...

In July 2007 Yassin Nassari (of Ealing, west London) was found guilty at the Old Bailey of possessing documents likely to be useful to a terrorist, these documents included detailed plans for the construction of Qassam rockets.^[9] , Ealing is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Old Bailey. ...

Qassam Rocket Specifications

Remnants of several types of rockets

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 262 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Qassam rocket Metadata This file contains... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 262 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Qassam rocket Metadata This file contains...

Similar Rockets

Other Palestinian armed groups also developed home-made rockets, but they are much less common than Hamas' Qassam rocket. The media generally refer to all Palestinian high-trajectory rockets as "Qassam rockets" or "Qassam missiles", while they call most rockets fired from Lebanon "Katyushas", as a Katyusha and Grads are not a specific models but a generic class of rockets (most of the rockets fired from Lebanon were not manufactured by Russia). Katyusha multiple rocket launchers are a type of rocket artillery built and fielded by the Soviet Union beginning in the Second World War. ... BM-21 battery. ...

• Hamas - Qassam rocket (models 1, 2 and 3)
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Al Quds 101 & 2
• Popular Resistance Committees - al Nasser-3
• Tanzim - Saria-2
• Fatah - Kafah

See also: Palestinian domestic weapons production

Hamas (Arabic: ; acronym: Arabic: , or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement,[1]) is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist organization. ... The emblem of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad shows a map of Israel superimposed on the images of the Dome of the Rock, two fists and two rifles. ... The al-Quds 101 Rocket is a homemade rocket made and utilized by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for use against targets in Israel. ... Emblem of the Popular Resistance Committees The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) are various Palestinian militant organizations which operate in the Gaza Strip and are regarded as terrorist organizations by Israel and the United States. ... Tanzim (Organization in Arabic) is a faction of the Palestinian al-Fatah movement. ... Fatah (Arabic: ); a reverse acronym from the Arabic name Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini (literally: Palestinian National Liberation Movement) is a major secular Palestinian political party and the largest organization in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a generally secular multi-party confederation. ... Over the course of the Al-Aqsa Intifada the various pro-Palestinian organizations have built a homemade weapons industry to fight the IDF and launch rocket attacks within Israels borders. ...

References

(Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Ynetnews is an English language Israel news and content website operated by Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most-read newspaper, and the Hebrew Israel news portal, Ynet. ... Category: ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News Online logo The BBC News Website in February 2006. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News Online logo The BBC News Website in February 2006. ...

See Also

• List of Qassam rocket attacks

Most Qassam rockets hit Sderot in Israel This is a list of Qassam rocket attacks where someone has been killed, five or more people have been injured in one attack, or the circumstances of the rocket attack itself were exceptional. ...

External links

• GlobalSecurity.org - Qassam Rocket
• The Homemade Rocket That Could Change The Mideast – By Tony Karon, TIME Online Edition (10 February, 2002)
• Qassam-2 missile a wild card in Mideast conflict – CNN (March 5, 2002)
• Gaza rockets kill two in Israel, BBC article (June 28, 2004)
• The creation and launching of Kassam rockets from the Gaza Strip
• Palestinian Weapons Production and Smuggling : Missiles & Rockets
• Victims of Qassam rockets in Sderot
• Rocketboom visits Sderot