The following is a list of 2008 rocket and mortar attacks on Israel, by Hamas and Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip. This was part of a rapid escalation of attacks by Hamas on Israel. Until the ceasefire on June 19, 2008, 2378 rockets and mortars were launched. This is more than the 1,639 attacks launched in all of 2007, the rate of fire per month had increased more than 240%. A six-month 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire was agreed to by both sides and began on June 19, 2008."Israel and Hamas ceasefire begins." BBC News. 19 June 2008. 3 January 2009. Sporadic attacks continued during the cease-fire at a vastly diminished rate; a total of 20 rockets and 18 mortars were launched from the signing of the ceasefire until the beginning of November. This represented a 98% reduction in rocket fire -month period prior to the signing of the ceasefire during which over 1,800 rockets were fired from Gaza.The Hamas terror war against Israel . Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs . 01-01-2009. See Statistics of Kassam rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip subsection. Update: subsection has been removed. Cached website can be found here On November 4, the Israeli military attacked a cross-border tunnel on the Gaza side, killing two Hamas gunman. The resulted in rocket and mortar attacks and subsequent Israel Air Force strikes on launching sites and killed an additional four Hamas gunmen. Israeli officials allege Hamas was constructing a tunnel to be used to abduct Israeli soldiers.Gaza truce broken as Israeli raid kills six Hamas gunmen , The Guardian, November 5, 2008. Following this event the number of rockets fired from Gaza escalated, 125 being launched in the month of November. This page lists rocket attacks on Israel by Palestinian terrorists. According to the Israeli military's count on December 27, 3,000 rockets hit Israel since the beginning of the year.
A total of eight people were killed by Qassam rocket, Grad rocket and mortar attacks on Israel in 2008. Four of these deaths occurred between 27 and 29 December.http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs list of casualties
Visual summary +Rockets and mortars launched from the Gaza Strip in 2008 Type Jan Feb Mar Apr May June Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Total Mortar 136 228 103 373 206 158 8 3 3 1 68 241 1528 Rockets 241 257 196 145 149 87 4 8 1 1 125 361 1575
January January 3, 2008 Palestinian terrorists fired a long-range Grad Iranian-supplied Katyusha rocket at northern Ashkelon, the longest reach of a Palestinian rocket (16.5 to 20 km). This rocket landed further north than any rocket since the rocket fire began seven years ago - . No one was hurt in the attack, though the missile landed only some 50 meters (55 yards) from a residential neighborhood. The Katyusha rocket fired at Ashkelon, a Grad model 122 millimeters (nearly 5 inches) in diameter, was the fifth such rocket fired towards Ashkelon. The use of the Katyusha rocket could bring a quarter million Israelis within rocket range (International Herald Tribune). Israel sent aircraft and tanks to hit buildings used by rocket launchers, killing twelve Palestinians including two to four civilians. Palestinians responded to Israel's strikes with a barrage of seven Qassam rockets, one of which hit the yard of a house in the town of Sderot. 25 other rockets were also fired by Palestinians at Israeli towns and forces in the Western Negev. January 4, 2008 Eight mortar shells were fired by Palestinians at southern Israel. Palestinians operating from Gaza launched six Qassam rockets at the western Negev on Friday, one of which struck the yard of a home in the town of Sderot, causing damage. One boy was lightly injured and evacuated to a hospital. Several residents suffered from shock. Meanwhile, a Qassam rocket hit a western Negev open field Friday morning. No damage or injuries were reported. January 9, 2008 At least ten Qassam rockets and twelve mortar shells were fired into Israel. Two of the twelve Qassam rockets "directly struck houses" in Sderot. This attack, coincided with the arrival of US President George W. Bush for a three-day visit. One of the missiles slammed into a house, landing in a young child's bedroom. The three-week-old baby had been taken by his mother to the shelter as soon as the Red Color alert siren sounded. The Israel Air Force targeted an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell that was firing mortar bombs from Beit Lahiyeh in northern Gaza, killing two terrorists and wounding six others, according to both Israeli and PA sources. January 10, 2008 At least one Qassam rocket was fired into Israel hitting the Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in the western Negev about "100 meters from the cafeteria." January 13, 2008Eight mortar bombs were fired at Israel, including one that exploded in Netiv HaAsarah, just north of Gaza, causing damage to a building. January 15, 2008 – January 18, 2008 Twenty-eight rockets hit the western Negev on January 15. One scored a direct hit on a home, wounding five people, including Lior Ben-Shimol, age 5, from Sderot, and a 19-year-old boy who was lightly injured from shrapnel. On January 15, terror emanating from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip sharply escalated. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that than 100 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza on the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon on January 15. More than 120 Qassam rockets and 65 mortars were fired towards the Western Negev, in a 72-hour period. The attacks injured more than eight Israelis, and two of the rockets struck near a kindergarten, which was full of children at the time of the attack. January 18, 2008 – January 28, 2008 There were 30 identified rocket hits from January 18 to January 28 (Hamas claimed responsibility for most) and 83 mortar shell hits.
February February 5, 2008 An 8-year-old boy and his older brother were seriously wounded Saturday when a rocket from Gaza slammed into the Israeli border town of Sderot. Their mother and a third brother were brought to the hospital suffering shock Israeli aircraft had earlier in the day struck twice in Gaza in an effort to thwart the launchings, the army said. One terrorist was seriously injured, medics said. February 6, 2008 Two girls, aged twelve and two, were injured when a Qassam rocket fired from northern Gaza landed near a kindergarten in a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council in the western Negev. Their mother suffered from shock. A house in Sderot was also damaged. The Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the attack. February 25, 2008 Palestinian terrorists fire five Qassam rockets at Israeli towns. One of which fell near a school in Sderot, 10-year-old Yossi Chymov, was critically injured in the attack. February 27, 2008 About 50 Qassam rockets were fired towards the Negev, one of which struck a parking lot near Sapir Academic College, killing 47-year-old student Ron Yahye. Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried this rocket barrage. In addition, they fired for the first time six Iranian built Grad missiles (also known as Katyushas, which actually refers to the original launcher) at the industrial city of Ashkelon. While only a few people were lightly injured, this longer distance attack on a larger Israeli city had a major psychological effect. The Israeli Prime Minister and several other minister vowed a tough response. The IAF retaliated with more airstrikes in Jabalia camp and the northern part of Gaza Strip. About seven killed in the attacks, most of whom were terrorists, however a six-month-old baby was also killed after a missile struck a house in the camp.War in South: Daily update - 27.02.2008 walla.co.il . 2008-02-27. February 28, 2008 A 13-month-old Gaza girl was killed by flying shrapnel when a Qassam missile launched from Gaza at Israel fell short and landed near her home.
March March 1, 2008 About 50 rockets were fired in a span of 12 hours. One Israeli 8 year-old had his leg amputated in a rocket attack. One Israeli civilian was killed in a rocket attack in Sderot.Kershner, Isabel. "Abbas suspends contacts with Israel ," March 2, 2008, International Herald Tribune. A much larger number of civilians were wounded or treated for shock. March 13, 2008 A Qassam rocket was shot at Ashkelon from Gaza. The rocket, the first in two days, landed in an open area in southern Ashkelon. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a secular left-wing group, claimed responsibility. March 19, 2008 Two rockets were fired at the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. March 20, 2008 A rocket landed within the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council limits during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The previous day, a 49-year-old rabbi was stabbed and wounded by a terrorist of the Free Sons of the Galilee Brigades near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.
April April 17, 2008 Seventeen rockets were fired at the western Negev near Ashkelon. April 18, 2008 Sixteen Qassam rockets were fired at Israel. One rocket hit power lines and another hit a residential block in Sderot. April 21, 2008 Palestinian forces operating out of the Gaza Strip on Monday fired at least nine rockets and mortar shells at communities in southern Israel, wounding a four-year-old Israeli boy (light injuries from a piece of shrapnel) and damaging a number of homes. April 22, 2008 One missile fired from northern Gaza hit the southern industrial zone of the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. April 29, 2008 More than 15 Qassam rockets and 20 mortar shells were fired on Israel throughout the day, with two of the Qassam rockets and eight of the mortar shells landing within and around western Negev towns. April 30, 2008 At least two rockets fired by Gaza-based Palestinian forces slammed into the southern Israel town of Sderot while local residents were attending a Holocaust memorial ceremony on Wednesday evening.
May May 1, 2008 Terrorists from Gaza fired at least 10 rockets at Sderot and neighboring communities. One rocket landed next to an Israeli high school. A number of students suffered from shock. May 9, 2008 On Friday a 48-year-old Jimmy Kdoshim was killed by a mortar shell while working in his garden in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Palestinian terrorists from the Islamist group Hamas, who regularly fire rockets and mortars into Israel from Gaza, claimed responsibility. May 10, 2008 Two rockets land in Ashkelon; one near a school at 7 AM, shortly before the children would arrive May 11, 2008 On Sunday afternoon, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades fired two Qassam rockets at the western Negev. One of the rockets landed at the parking lot of Sapir College, causing a woman to suffer shock and damaging some vehicles. The other rocket landed in Sderot near a bus carrying schoolchildren. Three children suffered shock and were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics. The bus' windows were shattered and a fire broke out nearby. May 12, 2008 Shuli Katz, a 70-year-old resident of Kibbutz Gvaram was killed early Monday evening from a Palestinian Qassam rocket which crashed into the backyard of a residential home in Yesha – a small community belonging to the Eshkol Regional Council. A 50-year-old man was treated for shock. The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. May 13, 2008 Five Qassam rockets are fired at Israel. May 14, 2008 A Katyusha rocket (also referred to as a Grad) was fired into the Israeli city of Ashkelon, it struck a clinic in the third floor of the Huzot shopping mall at 6:00 pm. This attack resulted in three people seriously injured (one was an eight-year-old girl), two moderately injured and eleven people suffered minor wounds. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command said its fighters launched the rocket. May 15, 2008