Proof That Russian Missiles Are In Gaza

On October 12th Israeli surveillance cameras spotted the distinctive contrail of an anti-aircraft missile being fired from Gaza at an Israeli helicopter. The missile missed, either because the missile was defective or because of the anti-missile systems carried by all Israeli aircraft operating over Gaza worked. The media reported that it was an older SA-7 Russian type missile but no one could be sure.

Earlier this year Israel spotted, in Gaza, some of the 480 Russian Igla-S (SA-24) shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles that had been sold to Libya and stolen from military warehouses during the rebellion there last year. Older SA-7s were taken as well. Some SA-7s and SA-24s have shown up in Gaza in the hands of Islamic terrorist group Hamas. Most Israeli and NATO helicopters and aircraft are equipped with missile detection and protection (lasers or flares) systems. Such systems on Israeli AH-64 helicopter gunships operating over Gaza are thought to have defeated several SA-24 attacks in the last year but, unlike the recent attack, there was no photographic proof.

Last year Russia supplied Libyan missile serial numbers, which were distributed to counter-terrorism officials worldwide with the admonition to be vigilant. Apparently the SA-24 thieves sold many of the SA-24s to Iran, which in turn gave some to Hamas and Hezbollah (another Iran backed Islamic terror group in Lebanon).

The SA-24 entered service eight years ago and is considered one of the most dangerous Russian portable anti-aircraft missiles. The SA-24 is a post-Cold War upgrade of a design that was introduced at the same time as the American Stinger. SA-24 weighs 19 kg (42 pounds) and fires a 11.7 kg (26 pound) missile for up to 6,000 meters (19,000 feet). The 14.3 kg Stinger fires its 10.1 kg missile out to 8,000 meters, but both systems have similar resistance to countermeasures and a warhead of about the same size (2-3 kg/4.4-6.6 pounds). The SA-24 in the hands of terrorists could bring down helicopters and airliners taking off. The SA-24 is a heat seeker but it does not just go for the engine exhaust but rather any part of the aircraft. This makes the SA-24 more dangerous because if they just go for the engine exhaust these missiles often do little damage.

Against jet fighters or large transports with powerful engines, the missiles that just home in on heat cause some damage to the tailpipe but usually fail to bring down the jet. This was first noted during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war where the Egyptians fired hundreds of SA-7s at Israeli A-4 light bombers. Most of the A-4s, with their 11,187 pounds of thrust engines, survived the encounter. Larger jets, like the F-4 and its 17,000 pound thrust engines, were even more difficult to bring down when only the engine exhaust was targeted. Smaller commercial jets, like the 737 or DC-9 (each using two 14,000 pounds of thrust engines) have proved vulnerable. But a 757 has much larger engines with 43,000 pounds of thrust and the 747 is 63,000. Moreover, the rear ends of jet engines are built to take a lot of punishment from all that hot exhaust spewing out. Put a bird into the front of the engine and you can do some real damage. But these older missiles homed in on heat and all of that is at the rear end of the engine. Since the 1970s, about 40 commercial aircraft have been brought down by Russian portable anti-aircraft missiles (usually older SA-7s), killing over 500 people. But more recent missile designs go for any part of the aircraft, although engine heat is still used to find the aircraft.

Israel - Gaza Rebels Grow Stronger

Israel closed schools close to the Gaza border, the first time it has done that since 2008, shortly before invading Gaza for three weeks to halt the growing number of rocket attacks. That offensive did bring a major drop in rocket attacks and a ceasefire with Hamas and Israel now threatens to invade again as the number of rocket attacks increases. Many smaller and more radical groups continued to fire rockets into Israel. Hamas has refused to shut down these more radical groups, because that might trigger a civil war. The smaller, more radical groups are increasingly critical of Hamas for having gone soft and eased up on Israel. The smaller Islamic terror groups are not strong enough to defeat Hamas, but they could carry out terror attacks inside Gaza. Hamas wants to avoid that. Meanwhile the two Palestinian governments (Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank) continue to fill their media with “destroy Israel” propaganda. That and the corrupt and incompetent governance in both areas leaves most Palestinians frustrated and angry.

October 24, 2012: Islamic terror groups in Gaza fired 80 rockets and mortar shells into Israel from late yesterday into today, causing some property damage and injuring three Thai farm workers (brought in because to replace Palestinians over the last decade of Palestinian terror attacks against Israel). Hamas took responsibility for some of the rockets fired. Israeli retaliation attacks killed three Palestinians. Egypt says it has negotiated a ceasefire between terror groups in Gaza and the Israelis. These ceasefires are frequent and rarely last long.

October 23, 2012: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, the ruler of Qatar visited Gaza and pledged $400 million to build 3,000 new homes in Gaza. Thani is trying to get Hamas away from its alliance with Iran and towards working with the Fatah government in the West Bank to create a united Palestinian government that can negotiate a peace deal with Israel. Qatar wants to end the state of war between Hamas and Israel and is hoping cash and public support may do it. Qatar is very wealthy (it has the highest per-capita income in the Persian Gulf) and its ruler has been increasingly active in backing change in the Arab world. Qatar is a major supporter of the Syrian rebels and urges political reforms throughout the Arab world. This is a difficult and thankless job. For example, a major event during Thani’s visit, a rally at a soccer stadium was cancelled at the last minute because most Palestinians were not interested and about 80 percent of the seats in the stadium were empty. Most Gazans are fed up with Hamas, and not showing up to honor the sheikh was one way to demonstrate their opposition without getting arrested.

Palestinian terrorists fired several rockets into Israel which triggered air raids in response. An Israeli soldier was also wounded by a terrorist bomb set off on the Gaza border fence.

Sudan reported that one of their ammunition factories blew up and blamed an Israeli air raid. Many Sudanese believe the bombed factory actually belongs to Iran. Sudan says they have proof it was an Israeli attack, in the form of fragments of Israeli missiles. But no such proof has yet been presented. Israeli officials refused to comment. Israel did carry out a similar raid 18 months ago. Explosions at ammunition factories often occur when someone gets sloppy, especially on the night shift.

October 19, 2012: A bomb went off in a Christian neighborhood in the Lebanese capital, killing a senior security official (and seven others) who was openly anti-Syria (and anti-Assad). This angered many Lebanese who are still bitter about decades of Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs. Police arrested a former government official (Michel Samaha), long known as pro-Syria and accused him of planning the operation. Police say Samaha admitted he transported explosives from Syria in his own automobile. Hezbollah has long used non-Shia allies, as well as Syrian agents, to carry out attacks on political rivals. This attack led to more gunfire between pro and anti-Syria factions in Lebanon.

On the Gaza border a bomb went off damaging an Israeli military vehicle.

October 17, 2012: Egypt has reopened its embassy in Israel. Although the new Egyptian government is dominated by an Islamic party that spouts lots of anti-Israeli rhetoric, Egypt insists it will maintain the terms of the 1979 peace treaty. The two countries have had diplomatic relations since 1994 but there has been no Egyptian ambassador in Israel for the last two years.

Israeli aircraft hit terrorist targets in Gaza in retaliation for rocket attacks the day before.

Israel - There were no injuries and no property damage was reported.

Four Grad rockets were fired last night from the Gaza Strip at the western Negev city of Netivot. Two were intercepted by the Iron Dome system and the two others fell in open areas outside the city. No injuries or property damage were reported. Another rocket fell on Tuesday morning in the area of the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council.

There were no injuries and no property damage was reported.

On Saturday, more than 20 rockets were fired toward Israel, and a factory worker in Sderot was moderately injured. Four people were killed in the Gaza Strip, including two terrorists and a 4-year-old boy, whom the Israel Defense Forces said was not struck by an Israeli operation.