- THE MEIR AMIT INTELLIGENCE AND TERRORISM INFORMATION CENTER - STAFF - APRIL 18, 2023 -
Beginning on Passover eve (April 5, 2023), dozens of rockets were fired at Israeli territory atypically from three different arenas: about 50 from the Gaza Strip, 40 of which fell inside Israel or were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system (April 5 and the night of April 6, 2023, the first rocket fire since March 18, 2023); 34 from south Lebanon (April 6, 2023), the heaviest barrage since the Second Lebanon War (2006); and three from southern Syria, two of which fell inside Israel (April 8, 2023). All of the rockets were apparently fired by Palestinian organizations.
In response IDF aircraft and artillery attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, south Lebanon, the rocket launchers and several other targets in southern Syria, including a military facility of the Syrian army’s Fourth Division, radar and Syrian army artillery.
The pretext for the rocket fire was the riot at al-Aqsa mosque when Israeli police and Palestinians clashed on the night of April 4, 2023. The clash spread to the mosque itself when police entered to remove several hundred men and woman who refused to leave. During the riots Palestinians threw chairs and other objects at the Israeli police and shot fireworks at the forces, who were employing teargas and shock grenades. The Palestinians reported many casualties and claimed they had been beaten by Israeli police forces. They also reported extensive damage to the mosque. Dozens of Palestinians were detained. The riots were documented by videos which were uploaded to Palestinian and Arab-Muslim media outlets and received extensive coverage. In addition to rocket fire, riots broke out in east Jerusalem and at locations in Judea and Samaria, and Palestinians carried out several terrorist attacks.
For the Palestinians, Hezbollah and other Arabs the incidents signified the so-called “unity of the fronts,” a Palestinian-Hezbollah strategy employed against Israel, and they regard the events as a “victory” of the Palestinian people over the “false occupation” [i.e., Israel]. They also claim that firing rockets from three arenas revealed their ability to “conquer” Israel (Hamas’ al-Risalah, April 11, 2023). Elias Hanna, a Lebanese military expert, said the recent events indicated a turning point, and that the simultaneous opening of three military fronts against Israel was a “strong indication of the change in the regional rules of engagement.” He said Israel was now facing an unfamiliar situation and was confronting it very carefully (al-Jazeera, April 8, 2023).
Rocket Fire from the Gaza Strip
Rocket fire
At 3:00 in the morning on April 5, 2023, sirens sounded in the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. Nine rockets were identified from the Gaza Strip. Four were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system and four fell in open areas. Somewhat later another rocket was fired at Israeli territory and also fell in an open area (IDF spokesman, April 5, 2023). The media in the Gaza Strip reported the rockets were the “first response” to the events in al-Aqsa mosque, adding that the joint operations room of the Palestinian organizations had begun its official response to the “aggression.”
The military-terrorist wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. Abu Mujahed, PRC spokesman, threatened that if Israel did not understand the message sent from the Gaza Strip by the “resistance” [Palestinian terrorist organizations], additional messages would be sent shortly (al-Mayadeen, April 5, 2023). PRC terrorist operatives documented six rockets fired at the southern Israeli city of Sderot (PRC Telegram channel, April 5, 2023).
Another barrage of rockets was fired from the Gaza Strip on the night of April 6, 2023, in response to IDF attacks. A total of 44 rockets were fired, eight intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system and 23 falling in open areas. A house in Sderot was directly hit while the residents were in a protected area. The residents of the communities near the Gaza Strip were asked to stay in their protected areas.
Several organizations claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, among them the Shaheed Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military-terrorist wing of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which reported firing rockets at the western Negev at 55 minutes past midnight and at 1:30 in the morning on April 7, 2023 (Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades Telegram channel, April 7, 2023); the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (AAMB) claimed responsibility for firing rockets at “the occupied Palestinian lands” (AAMB Telegram channel , April 7, 2023); and the military-terrorist wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also claimed responsibility for “a barrage” of rockets at Israeli territory to the north of the Gaza Strip in “response to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and al-Aqsa mosque and attacks on the Gaza Strip” (DFLP Telegram channel, April 7, 2023).