June 28, 2004

  For the first time, the crude Palestinian "Kassam" rockets killed Israelis. Two were killed by a rocket that hit the southern border town of Sderot. About 200 Kassam rockets have been fired from Gaza towards southern Israel. These rockets are so inaccurate that the Israelis in the area don't worry much about them. But most of the Israeli military activity in Gaza is to stop the smuggling (mainly via tunnels) of rocket building materials. The Israelis fear the possibility of the Palestinians developing a rocket design using a better guidance system. Components for such a rocket could easily be moved into Gaza via the tunnels, and more accurate rockets would kill a lot more Israelis.