GAZA CITY // Rockets fired by militants in Gaza over the past days of fighting have struck deeper into Israel than ever before, causing fear but not mass casualties.
According to Israel’s military and analysts, an increasing number of rockets with ranges longer than 20 kilometres are being produced inside the Hamas-run territory.
Despite these advances, Israel’s missile defence system, the Iron Dome, has intercepted many of them.
This has curtailed Hamas’s ability to threaten Israel and, in turn, its bargaining power during ceasefire negotiations, said Shlomo Brom, a retired Israeli air force brigadier general and a research fellow at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies.
“Much of the potential effect of these rockets is neutralised by Iron Dome,” he said. “They could have the potential to have a real impact on Israeli decision-making, but Iron Dome has prevented this.”
Israel’s military said on Wednesday that Iron Dome had a success rate of 86 per cent, intercepting 228 Gaza-fired rockets in the current round of fighting. The system focuses on projectiles fired at cities and ignores rockets that do not threaten population centres.
That, Gen Brom added, has prolonged the fighting because Israeli leaders are not facing the sort of civilian casualties that would pressure them to reach a truce. So far, only one Israeli has been killed.
“The Israeli successes in preventing successes in Hamas rocket fire is making the ceasefire agreement more difficult,” he said. “Israeli officials are not under the sort of pressure that would push them to a quick agreement.”
Still, in terms of weapons advancement, Gaza’s rocket-production industry has grown by leaps and bounds from a decade ago when fighters used crude Qassam rockets that had a range of only four to 15 kilometres.
About 40 per cent of rockets with a range of 20 kilometres or longer are made inside the territory, according to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, citing Israeli military statistics. The rest are believed to have been brought in by sea and through a now largely destroyed network of tunnels from Egypt.
The report said that one of the new locally produced projectiles is the M-302, a variation of the Syrian-made version with a potential range of 200 kilometres. One of those projectiles struck Hadera, an Israeli city about 116 kilometres north of Gaza, on July 8.
Another locally produced rocket is the J-80, named after Ahmed Jabari, the Hamas military chief whose assassination in November 2012 triggered an eight-day war with Israel. Hamas said it debuted the J-80 on Saturday when it launched a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv that was largely neutralised by Iron Dome interceptors.
Some estimates say Hamas had 10,000 rockets before the 2012 war and still possesses thousands.
More than 1,200 have been fired from Gaza since the current fighting began on July 8, according to the Israeli army.
The 2012 war included the use of “Iranian-made Fajr-5 missiles with a range of 75 kilometres and Gaza-built M75 rockets with a range of 80 kilometres”, said the Jane’s report, which was released earlier this week.
The advances in local production has enabled Hamas to continue using rockets despite Israel’s tightened and Egypt-backed siege of Gaza.
Under the military-backed leadership installed last summer, Egypt systematically destroyed the tunnels dug from Gaza that provided the territory not only with cheap food and fuel, but also weapons.
“The local production has increased dramatically over the years and it serves Hamas well given the siege,” said Zakaria Al Qaq, a professor of security studies Jerusalem’s Quds University.
That progress has also helped free Hamas from relying on rockets from allies such Iran and Syria, which have reduced support to the Islamist group over its decision to back the rebellion against the Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
Because of a lack of machinery and chemicals, locally produced weapons may not be as accurate as those made in professional arms-production facilities, said Mr Al Qaq. But Hamas and allied groups are gradually perfecting the weapons in their arsenal, potentially increasing their payloads as well.
“If they could make these weapons lethal and deliver them, then that would seriously up the threat on Israel and change the game,” he said.
hnaylor@thenational.ae
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Second leg:
Monday, Azizi Stadium, Tehran. Kick off 7pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fixtures (all in UAE time)
Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm
West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
