- March 3
- During the night, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a projectile at the Sdot Negev Regional Council. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its militants had fired a C5K rocket at an Israeli military tower near Kissufim. "We choose the option of resistance as the means to attain our national rights, and promise the Palestinian people that we will continue resistance against Israeli forces," a statement from the group said.[67]
- March 4
- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two Qassam rockets at Israel. One exploded in the Sdot Negev Regional Council and the other apparently landed within Palestinian territory. No injuries or damage were reported.[68]
- March 5
- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket at an unspecified site in the western Negev. No injuries or damage were reported. Israel responded with airstrikes on Hamas militant posts in Zeitoun, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. No injuries were reported.[68][69]
- March 9
- After nightfall, a Qassam rocket fired by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip landed in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.[70]
- March 16
- Palestinians fired a rocket into Sderot. No injuries or damage were reported.[71] Israel responded with an airstrike on a Hamas compound in the Gaza Strip, killing two Hamas militants and injuring one.[72]
- March 18
- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired four mortar shells at Israel. Some fell in unspecified locations in the western Negev,and some fell within the Gaza Strip.[73]
- Around 4 pm, Palestinian terrorists fired six additional mortar shells into the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.[74][73]
- March 19
- In the early morning, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired 54 mortars on Israeli communities within a period of 15 minutes. A man and his wife were wounded by shrapnel as they fled toward a safe zone. Several homes on a kibbutz were badly damaged. One mortar shell landed on the rooftop of a kindergarten, but the building was empty because it was Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a response to the death of two of the group's militants in an Israeli airstrike several days earlier.[75][76][77][78][79] According to The Telegraph, the unusually extreme attack by Hamas was an attempt by the Islamist group to divert its people's wrath and to avoid being engulfed by the concurrent popular uprisings in the Middle East.[80]
- Israel responded with airstrikes and tank fire, killing one Hamas official and injuring four others.[76]
- March 20
- On the Jewish holiday of Purim, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a mortar and two Qassam rockets at Israel.[77]
- Later in the day, Palestinians fired a Grad missile at southern Ashkelon. One elderly woman was lightly injured, and several other people suffered from shock. Sirens were heard in the city.[81] British Minister for the Middle East and North AfricaAlistair Burt condemned Hamas for its attacks on Israel as well as its assaults on Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip, saying: "Hamas should not think that while the attention of the world is elsewhere we will turn a blind eye to their actions. The indiscriminate targeting of Israeli citizens, as they celebrated the Jewish festival of Purim, is unacceptable."[82]
- March 21
- After nightfall, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket at the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.[83]
- March 22
- Around 4 pm, Palestinians fired four mortar shells at Alumim and Sa'ad. No injuries or damage were reported.[84][85]
- In the evening, Palestinians fired a Grad missile from the northern Gaza Strip and several mortar shells at Ashkelon; the Grad landed south of the city. No injuries or damage were reported.[86]
- In the evening, the Israel Defense Forces attacked a Palestinian terror cell in the midst of preparing to fire a long-range rocket into Israel, killing four terrorists. Israeli military sources said the same terrorists were behind the Grad missile attack onBeersheba on 23 February.[87]
- March 23
- During the night, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a Grad missile at Ashdod, which landed in an open area south of the city. This was the first time Ashdod, one of Israel's largest cities and relatively far from the Gaza Strip, was targeted since theGaza War. Sirens were heard in the city and in nearby Gedera and Kiryat Malachi. No injuries or damage were reported. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.[88]
- At 5:30 am, Palestinians launched another Grad missile at Beersheba. The rocket hit a street in the midst of a residential area. A 56-year-old man was injured by shrapnel that penetrated his third-floor apartment, and three other people suffered from shock. Several buildings, including a synagogue, were damaged. Fearing additional attacks, the city closed schools and universities for the day. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, saying, "This is an initial reaction to the Zionist crimes against our people in Gaza."[89][90][85]
- Four hours later, Palestinians fired a third Grad missile at Beersheba, hitting an open area within the city.[90][85]
- Later, Palestinians fired seven mortar shells at the Eshkol Regional Council and one at the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. Some of the shells contained white phosphorus.[91]
- US President Barack Obama condemned the attacks as well as a recent Palestinian terrorist bombing in Jerusalem "in the strongest possible terms", saying that "there is never any possible justification for terrorism".[92] Israel responded to the attacks with airstrikes on terrorist training sites, weapons-smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, and an abandoned rocket launcher. No injuries were reported in the airstrikes.[93]
- March 24
- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired twelve projectiles at Israeli towns throughout the day, reaching deep into the country. The Israeli cities of Beersheba, Ashdod and Kiryat Gat kept schools closed for the day, fearing additional attacks. The Ashkelonmunicipality held classes as usual, but the local Parents' Committee urged residents to keep their children at home.[93][94] EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the attacks as well as the recent Palestinian terrorist bombing in Jerusalem in "the strongest terms", adding that "attacks on any civilians are completely unacceptable in any circumstance".[92] Details of some of the attacks:
-
- During the night, Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket at the western Negev. No injuries or damage were reported.[93]
-
- Shortly before 11 am, a third Palestinian rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.[93]
-
- Around 12:15 pm, a fourth Palestinian Qassam rocket landed in an open area in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. No injuries were reported.[93].
-
- Just before 2 pm, Palestinians fired a fifth rocket at the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries were reported.[93]
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- A few hours later, a rocket landed in Sderot and a mortar exploded in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. The Color Red alarm sounded. No injuries or damage were reported.[98][97]
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- In the evening, Palestinians fired six mortar shells at the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.[99]
- March 26
- Early in the morning, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into Israel. One landed in the Eshkol Regional Council, exploding three yards from a home in one of the area's communities. The house was severely damaged but the eight family members who were sleeping inside were unharmed. Another home was moderately damaged. The second rocket landed in an open area in an unspecified location. No injuries were reported.[100][101]
- In the evening, a third rocket hit the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.[100][102]
- March 27
- A Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell near Jabaliya was attempting to launch a projectile into Israel when it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike. Two PIJ militants were killed and three PIJ militants were wounded.[103]
- March 29
- Palestinians fired an unspecified number of Qassam rockets at Sderot, but all the projectiles fell within the Gaza strip. The Color Red alarm sounded in the Israeli city.[104] Israel responded the following day with airstrikes on a Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell, killing one PIJ terrorist and wounding another, and on a smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.[105]
- March 31
- Around 7:30 pm, Palestinian terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket that landed in an open area south of Ashkelon. No injuries or damage were reported. The Color Red alarm sounded in nearby communities.[106]
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- For a full list of Gaza rocket attacks for 2011, please click here
- For a full list of Gaza rocket attacks for 2010, please click here
- For a full list of rocket attacks (2001-2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) please click here
