Palestinian Rocket Attack Video

This video from Powerline clears up the issue of what the “over the security barrier” rocket attacks we keep hearing about in Israel look like.

Background:

Israel says it is facing a new strategic threat from the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip, because of the smuggling of improved weapons across the Egyptian border. Israel believes it is headed for another round of conflict with the Islamic militant group, Hamas, which now heads the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli army says Palestinian militants have smuggled some Katyusha rockets into the Gaza Strip, potentially threatening towns well inside Israel. Military sources say the rockets have been smuggled into Gaza through tunnels in the Rafah area, running under the border with Egypt. Israel abandoned Rafah, known as a corridor for weapons smuggling, when it pulled out of Gaza in August.

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Katyusha rockets have a longer range than the homemade Palestinian Qassam rockets fired frequently at Israel. The Katyushas could hit strategic facilities like a power station in the nearby Israeli city of Ashkelon.

A little history on the Katyusha, which comes in 82mm and 132mm types :

Katyusha (Russian “Катюша”) multiple rocket launchers were built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. These launchers acquired this name, unofficial but immediately recognized in the Red Army, from the title of a popular Russian wartime song, Katyusha. The song is about a girl longing for her beloved who is away from her while serving in the military. Katyusha is a tender Russian diminutive of a female name: Ekaterina (Katherine)→Katya→Katyusha.

The development of the Katyusha rocket launcher was a response to Nazi Germany’s development of the six-barreled Nebelwerfer rocket mortar in 1936. The Red Army began work on rocket artillery design in 1938, and deployment of the 82mm BM-8 was approved on June 21, 1941. On July 14, 1941, an experimental artillery battery of seven launchers was first used in battle against the German army at Orsha in Belarus, under the command of Captain I. Flerov. The first eight regiments of missile artillery (36 launchers in each unit) were then created on August 8, 1941. An improved BM-13N (“normalized”) design was developed in 1943, and more than 1800 of this model were manufactured by the end of WWII.

Qassam rockets, which are much less powerful and accurate, have been used since 2001. The prevalence of Katyushas, dangerous as they are, indicates increased levels of state support for the terror groups attacking Israel.