Palestinian Rocket Attacks on Israel in 2010

Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza into Israeli territory had escalated sharply in the years preceding 2010, reaching particularly high levels during and around Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and January 2009. The Israel Security Agency's year-end summary, using data current through December 25, recorded 569 rocket launches in 2009 — including 407 during Operation Cast Lead — and 289 mortar-shell launches. Its corresponding 2010 figures were 150 rocket launches and 215 mortar-shell launches.[2]

A separate impact-based count identified 103 rocket hits in Israeli territory during 2010, rather than counting every launch.[1] Approximately one-third of the 150 rockets launched toward Israel misfired and fell inside the Gaza Strip, accounting for much of the difference between the launch and impact figures.[1] Only eight of the 103 identified hits involved standard 122mm Grad rockets; most launches since Operation Cast Lead involved homemade rockets.[1] Even at the reduced level, rocket and mortar fire disrupted daily life in the western Negev.[1]

The U.S. State Department's 2010 Human Rights Report counted approximately 235 rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza into Israel during the year, compared with 195 in 2009.[3] The State Department's Country Reports on Terrorism separately estimated that between 102 and 200 projectiles landed in Israel in 2010.[4] These figures use different measures — launches, confirmed impacts, or combined rocket-and-mortar totals — and should not be treated as directly comparable.

The monthly distribution of confirmed rocket hits in Israeli territory was uneven. March, with 15 hits, was the highest month, followed by November with 13. January, May, September, and December each had 11; June had nine; July seven; August five; February four; and April and October three each, for a total of 103.[1]

The Israel Security Agency's separate launch count followed a similar but not identical pattern. Monthly launch figures were January 13, February five, March 35, April five, May 14, June 14, July 13, August 14, September 16, October three, November five, and December 13, totaling 150.[2] March was also the peak month under this measure, with 35 launches — more than twice the total for any other month.[2] The State Department reported a marked increase in rocket and mortar attacks during December, accompanied by an escalation of Israel Defense Forces reprisals.[4]

The year opened with attacks on January 1 and 2. On January 1, four mortar shells were fired at Kerem Shalom and a rocket was fired at Kissufim; a faction of the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility.[1] On January 2, a rocket struck Netivot — the first such attack on that city since Operation Cast Lead. A woman was treated for shock, and the PFLP's military wing claimed responsibility.[1] Rocket hits in open areas of the western Negev were also reported on January 20 and 24, causing no casualties or damage. A group calling itself the "Tawhed and Jihad Group, Jerusalem" claimed the January 20 fire, although the cited report cautioned that minor or possibly fictitious Salafist-jihadist networks sometimes issued such claims.[5]

On March 18, according to the Israeli government-hosted report, a rocket struck a greenhouse in a farming community north of the Gaza Strip and killed a Thai agricultural worker, the first person killed by rocket fire since Operation Cast Lead.[1] The U.S. State Department reported the fatal strike as occurring on March 19 near Ashkelon and said the Israeli government attributed it to a rocket launched from northern Gaza. It also noted that no Israeli civilians died in violence emanating from Gaza during 2010.[3] The sources therefore agree on the victim and event but differ by one day on the date.

July produced two significant strikes. On July 30, a standard 122mm Grad rocket landed in Ashkelon — the first standard rocket fired in more than a year — sending a woman into shock.[1] The Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility, although the report said it was uncertain whether the group carried out the attack.[1] On July 31, a rocket landed near an educational facility in the western Negev, severely damaging the building but causing no casualties. The Battalions of the Unity of Allah and Jihad, described as affiliated with global jihad, claimed responsibility.[1]

On August 2, six 122mm Grad rockets were fired from the Sinai Peninsula toward Eilat and Aqaba. Three landed in Eilat, including one in a drainage basin, without causing Israeli casualties. Two landed near the Intercontinental Hotel in Aqaba, killing one Jordanian civilian and injuring five others, one critically; the sixth fell into the sea.[1] The report attributed the attack to operatives of Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, while noting that Hamas did not claim responsibility and denied that the August attack had taken place.[1] A similar incident occurred on April 22, when three Grad rockets were fired from Sinai toward Eilat and Aqaba; one landed in the sea south of Eilat, one in Aqaba, and divers recovered the third off the Eilat coast on April 24.[1]

In September, eight mortar shells were fired into open areas of the western Negev, some of them containing phosphorus. These were tracked separately from the monthly rocket-hit totals, and no casualties or damage were reported.[1] On December 21, a homemade rocket landed near a kindergarten in a western Negev village, slightly injuring a young girl and sending ten residents for treatment for shock.[1]

Multiple Palestinian terrorist organizations were associated with the 2010 attacks. The State Department reported that Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees conducted most rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza. The Israeli government nevertheless held Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza because Hamas was the dominant organization in effective control of the territory.[4]

The Jewish Virtual Library chronology records reported responsibility claims involving Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in connection with rocket, mortar, or related incidents during 2010.[6] These entries document reported claims and attributions rather than independently establishing responsibility. The cited ITIC weekly report similarly cautioned that some claims were made by minor or possibly fictitious Salafist-jihadist networks.[5]

The Sinai-launched attacks presented a distinct attribution problem. The government-hosted report described the rockets as originating in Gaza but being fired from the Sinai Peninsula, attributed both incidents to operatives of Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and noted that Hamas did not acknowledge responsibility and denied that the August attack occurred.[1] Their inclusion in an account of attacks from Gaza therefore requires this geographic and attributional context.

Although the year's overall level of rocket fire remained substantially below the pre-Operation Cast Lead period, the relative quiet began to erode near the end of 2010. The government-hosted report recorded 28 mortar-shell hits in December, more than half of the annual total of 53, and said the trend continued into January 2011.[1] The State Department likewise described a marked December increase in rocket and mortar attacks and a corresponding escalation of Israeli reprisals.[4]

Israeli assessments also held that Palestinian terrorist organizations used the quieter period to rearm and reorganize.[4] A later Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs article reported that rocket attacks rose from 103 in 2010 to 375 in 2011 and 797 through November 13, 2012, indicating that the reduced 2010 level did not persist.[7]

Sources tracking the 2010 attacks used different methodologies and produced figures that should not be treated as equivalent. The Israel Security Agency counted 150 rocket launches toward Israel, while the impact-based government report counted 103 identified rocket hits in Israeli territory. The latter explained the difference by noting that approximately one-third of launches misfired and fell inside Gaza.[1][2] The State Department's Human Rights Report gave a combined figure of approximately 235 rockets and mortar shells fired, while the Country Reports on Terrorism estimated that 102–200 projectiles landed in Israel.[3][4]

The government-hosted report also contains an apparent internal numerical error. Its annual text and graphs give 53 mortar-shell hits in 2010 and 161 during 2009–2010, but a later graphic caption incorrectly states that the two-year total was 61.[1] Its rocket figures are internally consistent at 103 for 2010 and 261 for 2009–2010.[1] A Jewish Virtual Library annual table lists 103 for 2010 but does not define the measure or explain its relationship to the Israel Security Agency's 150-launch figure.[8] Counts of launches, confirmed impacts, and combined rocket-and-mortar projectiles therefore represent distinct measures of the underlying events.