June 25,
2008: Israel is moving anti-mortar
radars to its border with Gaza, to fight the growing number of Iranian 120mm
mortars Hamas is using. While the mortar is heavy (about 300 pounds), it can be
broken down into components (barrel-94 pounds, base plate- 135 pounds, bipod-72
pounds, sight-four pounds). More accurate than the locally made Kassam rockets,
and with more range (normally 6-7 kilometers, but up to 10 kilometers with
special ammo), the shells weigh 35-40 pounds and have about the same
destructive effect as 105mm howitzer shells.
Israel has
anti-mortar radars that can quickly (within seconds) calculate the origin of an
incoming mortar shell, electronically transmit that location to nearby
artillery, and have fire on the mortar within a minute. But the Hamas mortar
crews know that, and can fire 3-4 shells quickly, then toss mortar components
in the back of an SUV or pickup truck, and roar off. The Israelis will probably
respond to that with UAVs constantly flying over the likely mortar firing sites
in northern Gaza, ready to detect the fleeing mortar crew vehicle, and try and
get a missile on it. To get around this, Hamas has taken to using the mortars
against some of the gates in the Israeli security fence. These gates are within
range of residential areas, where Hamas welcomes Israeli shell fire, and the resulting
dead civilians. Makes for great propaganda.
This game
of cat and mouse has been going on in northern Gaza for eight years, and
hundreds of Palestinian rocker launcher and mortar crewmen have been killed or
wounded. But at the same time, nearly 10,000 rockers and mortar shells have
been fired in that time.
Note that
the Iranian 120mm mortar is based on an Israeli design. When it comes to
weapons, Iran believes that, if you must steal, steal from the best.
