Editing Qassam rocket

{{Short description|Palestinian homemade artillery rocket}}
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{{Update|date=October 2024}}
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{{Infobox weapon
<!-- Type selection -->
|is_missile=yes
|name=Qassam
| image= Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Eight Qassam Launchers in Gaza.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=Eight Qassam launchers, seven equipped with operating systems and one armed and ready to launch.
|type=
|service=
<!-- Production history -->
|designer= [[Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades]]
|design_date= 2001
|manufacturer= Palestinian militants
|production_date= 2001–current
<!-- Service history -->
|origin=
|used_by= Palestinian militants
|wars= [[Gaza–Israel conflict]]
<!-- Vehicle/missile specifications -->
|engine=
|propellant= Solid fuel ([[Rocket candy|sugar and potassium nitrate mix]])
|weight= Qassam 1: 35 kg;<br/>Qassam 2: 40 kg;<br/>Qassam 3: 50 kg;<br/>Qassam 4: 40–50 kg<ref name="qassam_specs">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/prr/qassams.php |title=What are Qassam Rockets? |work=Jewish Policy Center.org |access-date=2 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414193851/http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/prr/qassams.php |archive-date=14 April 2009 }}</ref>
|wingspan=
|length= Qassam 1: 180 cm;<br/>Qassam 2: 180 cm;<br/>Qassam 3: 220 cm;<br/>Qassam 4: 244 cm<ref name="qassam_specs"/>
|diameter= Qassam 1: 11.5 cm;<br/>Qassam 2: 11.5 cm;<br/>Qassam 3: 11.5 cm;<br/>Qassam 4: 11.5 cm<ref name="qassam_specs"/>
|speed=
|vehicle_range= Qassam 1: 5 km;<br/>Qassam 2:12 km;<br/>Qassam 3: 16 km
|ceiling=
|guidance=
|accuracy=
|steering =
|launch_platform=
|unit_cost=
<!-- Explosive specifications -->
|filling=  Explosive material with metal bearing balls;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=511267&sid=126 |title=רגעי האימה של ילדי שדרות בדרך לבית-ספר |work=nana10.co.il |date=3 September 2007 |access-date=2 July 2015 |archive-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703223005/http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=511267&sid=126 |url-status=dead }}</ref> standard explosive material<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sderonet.co.il/index2.php?id=32&lang=HEB |title=שדרונט- הקסאם |work=sderonet.co.il |access-date=2 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704070727/http://www.sderonet.co.il/index2.php?id=32&lang=HEB |archive-date=4 July 2015 }}</ref>
|filling_weight=Qassam 1: 5 kg;<br/>Qassam 2: 10 kg;<br/>Qassam 3: 20 kg;<br/>Qassam 4:~10 kg
|detonation=
|yield=
}}
The '''Qassam rocket''' ({{langx|ar|صاروخ القسام}} {{Transliteration|ar|ALA|Ṣārūkh al-Qassām}}; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel [[artillery rocket]] developed and deployed by the [[Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades]], the military arm of [[Hamas]]. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near civilian areas, and are "indiscriminate when used against targets in population centers".<ref name=hrw>{{cite web |title=Gaza: Palestinian Rockets Unlawfully Targeted Israeli Civilians |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/24/gaza-palestinian-rockets-unlawfully-targeted-israeli-civilians |website=hrw.org/news/ |date=24 December 2012 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=11 July 2014}}</ref>

Since the rocket was first manufactured in 2001 by [[Tito Masoud]] and [[Nidal Farhat]], three models of the Qassam rocket have been produced and used. More generally, all types of [[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|Palestinian rockets fired into southern Israel]], for example the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement|Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] [[Al Quds rocket]]s, are called Qassams by the Israeli media, and often by foreign media.<ref name=rocket-threat-p33>{{cite report |url=http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/rocket_threat_e.pdf |page=33 |title=Rocket threat from the Gaza Strip, 2000–2007 |work=Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center |publisher=Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center |date=December 2007 |access-date=5 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613143811/http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/rocket_threat_e.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2010 }}</ref>

Leading international human rights organizations have called Palestinian armed groups' use of Qassam rockets against civilian and civilian targets a war crime and a violation of international law.

Many of the rocket's components are made of common materials such as sugar, fertilizer, firearms cartridges, springs, nails, and steel cylinders.

==History==
===Name===
Qassam rockets are named after the [[Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades]], the armed branch of [[Hamas]], itself named for [[Izz ad-Din al-Qassam]], a Syrian [[Muslim]] preacher whose death during a guerrilla raid against [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandatory authorities]] in 1935 was one of the catalysts for the [[1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine]].<ref name="Qassam">{{cite web |title=HAMAS rockets |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas-qassam.htm |work=GlobalSecurity.org |access-date=11 August 2009}}</ref><ref name="history">{{cite web |title=History of the Qassam Rocket |url=http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/prr/history.php |work=[[Jewish Policy Center]] |access-date=12 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724171718/http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/prr/history.php |archive-date=24 July 2009 }}</ref>

===Manufacture and deployment===
[[Tito Masoud]] and [[Nidal Farhat]] manufactured the first Qassam-1 rocket, with a 2,500m range, in June 2001. This development in rocket manufacturing and development was a turning point in the war between Palestinian armed factions and Israel.<ref name="AlMuntaqa">{{cite journal |last1=Hussein |first1=Ahmed Qasem |title=The Evolution of the Military Action of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades |journal=AlMuntaqa |date=2001 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=78–97 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.31430/almuntaqa.4.1.0078 |access-date=22 August 2023 |publisher=[[Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies]]|jstor=10.31430/almuntaqa.4.1.0078 }}</ref> The first Qassam produced was the Qassam-1, with a maximum range of {{convert|3|to|4.5|km|mi|sp=us}}.<ref name="Qassam" />

Hamas launched the first Qassam-1 rocket attack in October 2001, during the [[Second Intifada]]. The first time Palestinians launched rockets into Israel, rather than at an [[Israeli settlement]] in the Gaza Strip, occurred on February 10, 2002. One of the rockets landed in [[Sa'ad|Kibbutz Saad]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Palestinians launch rockets at Israel |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2002/Palestinians+launch+rockets+at+Israel+-+10-Feb-200.htm |date=10 February 2002 |work=[[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=11 August 2009}}</ref> Two Qassam rockets landed in the southern Israeli city of [[Sderot]], the first city hit, on March 5, 2002. Some rockets have hit as far as the edge of [[Ashkelon]]. By the end of December 2008, a total of 15 people had been killed by Palestinian rockets since attacks began in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Victims+of+Palestinian+Violence+and+Terrorism+sinc.htm |title=Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000 |publisher=[[Foreign relations of Israel|Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] |access-date=2008-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403024612/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-%2BObstacle%2Bto%2BPeace/Palestinian%2Bterror%2Bsince%2B2000/Victims%2Bof%2BPalestinian%2BViolence%2Band%2BTerrorism%2Bsinc.htm |archive-date=2007-04-03 }} Incidents: June 28, 2004 (2 killed), September 29, 2004 (2 killed), January 15, 2005 (1 killed), June 7, 2005 (3 killed), July 14, 2005 (1 killed), November 15, 2006 (1 killed), November 21, 2006 (1 killed), May 21, 2007 (1 killed), May 27, 2007 (1 killed), February 27, 2008 (1 killed), May 12, 2008 (1 killed)</ref> Since 2000, Palestinian rockets, which include the Qassam, alongside others such as the [[Grad rocket]], have been used to kill 22 Israeli citizens and one [[Thai people|Thai]] national (as of January 9, 2009).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL9116659._CH_.2400 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118165644/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL9116659._CH_.2400 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2009 |work=Reuters |title=UN call for immediate Gaza truce, attacks go on |first=Nidal |last=al-Mughrabi |date=January 9, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3864628,00.html |title=Man killed in Qassam attack |newspaper=Ynetnews |publisher=Ynetnews.com |date=1995-06-20 |access-date=2011-09-07|last1=Hadad |first1=Shmulik }}</ref>

==Rocket, design and cost==
===Rocket===
[[File:Rockets-latrun-exhibition-1.jpg|thumb|Rockets being exhibited]]
The Qassam rocket is the best-known type of rocket deployed by [[Palestinian militants]], mainly against [[Israeli people|Israeli]] civilians, but also some military targets during the [[Second Intifada]] of the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3702088.stm Gaza's rocket threat to Israel], BBC, 21 January 2008</ref><ref name="HRW-PalyWarCrimes">[https://www.hrw.org/news/2005/06/08/hamas-must-end-attacks-against-civilians], [[Human Rights Watch]], 8 June 2005</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], Qassam rockets are too inaccurate and prone to malfunction to be used against specific military targets in or near civilian areas, and are mainly launched for the purpose of "harming civilians".<ref name="HRW-PalyWarCrimes"/><!-- The website counter on which this statement was placed may count number of tzeva adom (red alert) alarm events, so taken out here -- According to the statistics of the IDF Home Front Command, as of August 20, 2014, there have been more than 15600 rockets fired into Israel since 2001,<ref name=PalyRocketCounter/> the vast majority of this number are Qassams. -->

===Design===
The utility of the Qassam rocket design is assumed to be ease and speed of manufacture, using common tools and components. To this end, the rockets are propelled by a solid mixture of [[sugar]] and [[potassium nitrate]], a common fertilizer. The warhead is filled with smuggled or scavenged [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]] and [[urea nitrate]], another common fertilizer. The warhead's explosive material is similar to the civilian explosive [[Amatol#Ammonite|ammonite]].<ref name="growingthreatkassam">

{{cite web |last=Lorber |first=Azriel |title=The Growing Threat of the Kassam Unguided Rockets |url=http://www.me-monitor.com/docframes.asp?file=files/The%20Growing%20Threat%20of%20the%20Kassam.htm |access-date=2009-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219024648/http://www.me-monitor.com/docframes.asp?file=files%2FThe%20Growing%20Threat%20of%20the%20Kassam.htm |archive-date=2009-02-19 }}
</ref>

The rocket consists of a steel cylinder, containing a rectangular block of the propellant. A steel plate which forms and supports the [[Propelling nozzle|nozzles]] is then [[Spot welding|spot-welded]] to the base of the cylinder. The warhead consists of a simple metal shell surrounding the explosives, and is triggered by a [[Fuse (explosives)|fuse]] constructed using a simple [[Cartridge (firearms)|firearm cartridge]], spring and a nail.<ref name="growingthreatkassam"/>

Early designs used a single nozzle which screwed into the base; later rockets use a seven-nozzle design, with the nozzles drilled directly into the rocket baseplate. This alteration both increases the tolerance of the rocket to small nozzle design defects, and makes manufacture easier by allowing the use of a drill rather than a [[lathe]] during manufacture (because of the smaller nozzle size). Unlike many other rockets, the nozzles are not canted, which means the rocket does not spin about its [[Flight control surfaces#Longitudinal axis|longitudinal axis]] during flight. While this results in a significant decrease in accuracy, it greatly simplifies manufacture and the launch systems required.<ref name="growingthreatkassam"/>

=== Cost ===
The cost of the materials used for manufacturing each Qassam was up to $800 or €500 per rocket in 2009.<ref name="Ref_h">{{cite web |title=What are Qassam Rockets? |url=http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/prr/qassams.php |publisher=[[Jewish Policy Center]] |access-date=9 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414193851/http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/prr/qassams.php |archive-date=14 April 2009 }} "The raw materials for one rocket can cost up to $800."</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,531578,00.html |title=A Visit to a Gaza Rocket Factory (Islamic Jihad) |author=Ulrike Putz |publisher=Spiegel Online |date=29 January 2008 |access-date=4 August 2010}}</ref>

==Reactions==
===Israeli ===
[[File:Sderot - A Qassam rocket is displayed in Sderot town hall against a background of pictures of residents killed in rocket attacks.jpg|A Qassam rocket is displayed in [[Sderot]] town hall against a background of pictures of residents killed in rocket attacks|thumb|right]]
The introduction of the Qassam rocket was unexpected by Israeli politicians and military experts,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=30082 |title=Historical Survey of Israeli Leaders: Will Rockets Fall? |work=IMRA |date=15 July 2006 |access-date=2 July 2015}}</ref> and reactions have been mixed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3264980,00.html |title=Peres: Enough with Qassam hysteria |publisher=[[Ynetnews]] |date=20 June 2006 |access-date=11 March 2007}}</ref> In 2006, the [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Israeli Ministry of Defense]] viewed the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3222783,00.html |title=Defense Ministry: Trade with China resumed |publisher=[[Ynetnews]] |date=1 March 2006 |access-date=11 March 2007}}</ref> A 2008 study found that over half of [[Sderot]]'s residents have been hurt, either physically or psychologically, by the use of Qassams.<ref>{{cite news |title=Study: Over half of Sderot residents are Qassam casualties |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3627943,00.html |first=Ilana |last=Curiel |date=24 November 2008 |work=Ynet}}</ref> The Israel Defense Forces has reacted to the deployment of the Qassam rockets by deploying the [[Red Color]] early warning system in Sderot, Ashkelon, and other potential targets placed at risk. The system consists of an advanced radar that detects rockets as they are being launched, and loudspeakers warn civilians to take cover between 15 and 45 seconds before impact<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7802276.stm |title=Rocket attacks plague Israeli towns |publisher=BBC |date=28 December 2008 |access-date=5 January 2009}}</ref> in an attempt to minimize the threat posed by the rockets. A system called [[Iron Dome]], designed to intercept<ref name=A7-7QassamOutViral/> the rockets before they can hit their targets, has been in use since March 2011. A system based on lasers ([[Tactical High Energy Laser|Nautilios]]) was researched in a joint Israeli-American project in the early 2000s, but was discontinued.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

An online clock timer,<ref name=PalyRocketCounter>{{cite web |last1=Yehonatan |first1=Tsirolnik |first2=Aaron |last2=Friedman |title=ISRAEL HAS BEEN ROCKET FREE FOR... |url=http://israelhasbeenrocketfreefor.com/ |access-date=15 August 2014}}</ref> developed by Aaron Friedman and Yehonatan Tsirolnik, that automatically resets when Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel occur uses information from the IDF Home Front Command system and counts time up from the last Palestinian rocket attack on Israel. It displays how long Israel has been rocket-free and shows the summed-up total numbers of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.<ref name=PalyRocketCounter/><ref name=IDFGazaRocketsCount>{{cite web |last1=IDF |title=Rocket Attacks on Israel from Gaza Strip |url=http://www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/ |website=idfblog.com/facts-figures/ |publisher=Israel Defense Forces |access-date=15 August 2014 |archive-date=4 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804022213/http://www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> "Israel has been under non-stop rocket attacks for years (..) Whenever a rocket is fired, it restarts. Sadly, this counter never really gets above an hour", Friedman said on July 18, 2014, during the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]].<ref name=IsraelRocketFreeCounter>{{cite news |last1=Press |first1=Viva Sarah |title=Israelhasbeenrocketfree.com automatically resets when Hamas fires a rocket toward Israel |url=http://www.israel21c.org/news/online-clock-tracks-how-long-israel-has-been-rocket-free/ |access-date=15 August 2014 |agency=ISRAEL21c |publisher=www.israel21c.org |date=19 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=HaaretzRocketFreeCounter>{{cite news |last1=Haaretz |title=How long has it been since the last rocket strike on Israel? |url=http://www.haaretz.com/business/1.606376 |access-date=15 August 2014 |issue=haaretz.com/business |publisher=Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel |date=21 July 2014}}</ref> An amateur YouTube video, showing the Israeli [[Iron Dome]] defense system at a military checkpoint near a crossing into Gaza taking out multiple Qassam rockets was uploaded in 2014.<ref name=A7-7QassamOutViral>{{cite web |last1=Ronen |first1=Gil |title=Watch: Iron Dome Intercepts More Than 10 Rockets at Once |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/184473#.U_3pBNZVKls |website=www.israelnationalnews.com/News/ |date=27 August 2014 |publisher=Arutz Sheva |access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref><ref name=YT-15QassamOutViral>{{cite web |title=15 Qassam Rockets intercepted At Once By The Iron Dome |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e9UhLt_J0g | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826144246/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e9UhLt_J0g&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2014-08-26 | url-status=dead|website=www.youtube.com |publisher=Youtube.com |access-date=27 August 2014}}</ref>

===Palestinian ===
In 2012, Palestinian president [[Mahmoud Abbas]] stated "There is no justification for rockets from Gaza or anywhere else," adding that "Rocket attacks are in vain because they do not bring peace any closer."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Abbas-No-justification-for-Gaza-rocket-attacks |title=Abbas: No justification for Gaza rocket attacks |newspaper=[[Jerusalem Post]] |date=11 February 2012 |access-date=2 July 2015}}</ref>

[[Ibrahim Khreisheh]], the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), stated in an PA TV interview on July 9, 2014 (translated by [[MEMRI]]) that indiscriminate Hamas rockets from densely populated residential areas are "crimes against humanity", while Israeli strikes are legal responses.<ref name=a7-Khreisheh>{{cite web |last1=Soffer |first1=Ari |title=PA Official Admits: Israel Follows International Law, We Don't |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182837 |website=israelnationalnews.com/News/ |date=13 July 2014 |publisher=Arutz Sheva |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=youtube-mirror-PAwarcrimes>{{cite web |title=Palestinian Envoy to UNHRC: Israelis Warn Civilians Before Attacks, We Don't |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjzS27ylCZ8 |website=youtube.com |publisher=MEMRITVVideos |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

===Human rights groups===
[[Amnesty International]] labeled Palestinian groups' use of rockets during the [[2014 Gaza war]] as a "war crime", stating that "Palestinian armed groups operating in the Gaza Strip fired thousands of indiscriminate rockets and mortars into Israel; firing munitions which cannot be aimed accurately into civilian areas is a war crime, and statements by Hamas and Palestinian armed groups also indicates that some attacks were intended to kill or injure civilians."<ref name="MDE 15/017/2014">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/document/?indexNumber=mde15%2F0005%2F2015&language=en |title=Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories: Israel/Gaza conflict |date=July 2014}}</ref>

Amnesty additionally "has documented that Palestinian armed groups have stored munitions in and fired indiscriminate rockets from residential areas in the Gaza Strip, and available evidence indicates that they continue to do both during the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict|current hostilities]], in violation of [[Geneva conventions#Protocols|international humanitarian law]] (..) Under international humanitarian law, (..) Parties to the conflict must also take necessary precautions to protect civilians in their power from the effects of attack. This includes avoiding, to the maximum extent feasible, co-locating military objectives in the vicinity of densely populated civilian neighbourhoods. This means the parties should avoid endangering civilians by storing ammunition in, and launching attacks from, populated civilian areas."<ref name="ICRC-humanShieldsArt51">{{cite web |title=Protection of the civilian population |url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl/WebART/470-750065 |website=Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977. |publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross |access-date=10 July 2014}}</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] has called the use of Qassam rockets by Hamas against civilians and civilian targets illegal under international law. In a 2005 statement, the group said that "such weapons are therefore indiscriminate when used against targets in population centers. The absence of Israeli military forces in the areas where rockets have hit, as well as statements by leaders of Palestinian armed groups that population centers were being targeted, indicate that the armed groups deliberately attacked Israeli civilians and civilian objects."<ref name=hrw/> In another 2005 statement, the group noted that as the ruling authority of Gaza, Hamas was obligated to uphold the laws of war and should appropriately punish those responsible for serious violations".<ref name="HRW-PalyWarCrimes"/> The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian structures that do not discriminate between civilians and military targets as [[Geneva conventions#Protocols|illegal under international law]].<ref name="ICRC-humanShieldsArt51"/><ref name=hrw/>

==Similar Palestinian rockets==
{{See also|Palestinian domestic weapons production}}
Other Palestinian militant groups have also developed home-made rockets. The media generally refer to all Palestinian high-trajectory rockets as "Qassam rockets" or "Qassam missiles", while they call most rockets fired from Lebanon "[[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha]]s", as a Katyusha is not a specific model but rather a generic class of rocket.

* [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement|Palestinian Islamic Jihad]]&nbsp;– [[Al Quds rocket|Al Quds 101 & 2]]
* [[Popular Resistance Committees]]&nbsp;– [[al Nasser rocket|al Nasser-3]]
* [[Tanzim]]&nbsp;– [[Saria rocket|Saria-2]]
* [[Fatah]]&nbsp;– [[Kafah rocket|Kafah]]
* [[PFLP]] – [[Samoud-1]]

The Israeli [[Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center]] estimated that in 2007<ref name=ITIC-2007-pages>{{cite report|url=http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/terror_07e.pdf |page=11,28 |title=Anti-Israeli Terrorism in 2007 and its Trends in 2008 |work=Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center |publisher=Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center |date=May 2008 |access-date=5 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013092026/http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/terror_07e.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2009 }}</ref> the proportions of rockets fired were:
: 34%&nbsp;– [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Palestinian Islamic Jihad]]
: 22%&nbsp;– [[Hamas]]
:  8%&nbsp;– [[Fatah]]
:  6%&nbsp;– [[Popular Resistance Committees]]
: 30%&nbsp;– unknown

The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reports that the number of Palestinian rockets fired per year<ref name=ITIC-2007-pages /> were:

: 2001:   4
: 2002:  35
: 2003: 155
: 2004: 281
: 2005: 179
: 2006: 946
: 2007: 896
: 2008: 2,048<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/014/040.html |title=חדשות - צבא וביטחון nrg - ...שנה לעופרת יצוקה: ירידה חדה |work=nrg.co.il |access-date=2 July 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ababeel1]]
* [[Improvised artillery in the Syrian Civil War]]

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Qassam rockets|Qassam rocket}}
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas-qassam.htm GlobalSecurity.org&nbsp;– Qassam Rocket]
*[http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,202159,00.html The Homemade Rocket That Could Change The Mideast]&nbsp;– By [[Tony Karon]], TIME Online Edition (10 February 2002)
*[http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/02/12/qassam.facts/index.html Qassam-2 missile a wild card in Mideast conflict]&nbsp;– CNN (March 5, 2002)
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3845731.stm Gaza rockets kill two in Israel], BBC article (June 28, 2004)
*[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,531578,00.html A Visit to a Gaza Rocket Factory],   by Ulrike Putz, der Spiegel international (January 29, 2008, in English)
*[http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/weapons/q0279.shtml Katyusha & Qassam Rockets] on www.aerospaceweb.org
*[http://www.marek-peters.com/fotos/krieg/qassam-raketen/ Photos: Qassam rockets in Sderot]
* [http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141698/mark-perry/gazas-bottle-rockets Gaza's Bottle Rockets - Why Hamas' Arsenal Wasn't Worth a War] (2014-08-03), [[Mark Perry (author)|Mark Perry]], ''[[Foreign Affairs (magazine)|Foreign Affairs]]''
* [[Gabi Siboni]], [http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/systemFiles/AdkanEng9_3_Siboni.pdf The Operational Aspects to Fighting the Qassam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820044842/http://www.inss.org.il/uploadImages/systemFiles/AdkanEng9_3_Siboni.pdf |date=2016-08-20 }}, ''[[Institute for National Security Studies (Israel)|Military and Strategic Affairs]]'', Volume 9, No. 3, November 2006.

{{Hamas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qassam Rocket}}
[[Category:Second Intifada]]
[[Category:Hamas]]
[[Category:Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine]]
[[Category:Rocket artillery]]
[[Category:Rocket weapons of Palestine]]
[[Category:Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:Insurgency weapons]]
[[Category:Palestinian inventions]]