TEL AVIV – Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based terror group, unveiled its newest rocket at the annual “Bond of Blood” family festival on Thursday, Palestinian news website Donia al-Watan reported.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the group’s military wing in charge of the unveiling, did not specify the rocket’s precise capabilities. However, the report said it was capable of striking Israel, saying, “the upgraded weapons show that the Al-Quds Brigades are ready to repel any Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
The festival honors terrorists who died or were wounded while carrying out attacks against Israel and features a “military parade” in which small children – including babies – are dressed as jihadi militants, armed with toy guns and other weapons.
During the 50-day Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Gaza-based terror groups launched Syrian-made long-range M-302 rockets at Israel’s major population centers, including Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Israeli officials said on Wednesday that Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, was digging more than six miles of underground tunnels leading into Israel every month. In 2014’s summer conflict, at least 34 tunnels – some of which were used by Hamas terrorists to infiltrate Israel – were destroyed by the IDF.
During that conflict, around 4,500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad rockets were launched into Israel, but the large majority of those aimed at population centers were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.