A Palestinian girl walks past a monument of a homemade M75 rocket in the middle of a square in Gaza City yesterday. Hamas fired M75 rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the 2012 eight-day fighting with Israel.
AFP
Gaza City
Hamas unveiled a rocket-shaped statue yesterday showcasing its capacity to strike arch-enemy Israel, as the Jewish state boasted its own haul of captured weapons it claims were bound for Gaza.
“Hamas managed to take the battle to the heart of the Zionist entity (Israel) after developing its rocket system, succeeding where many Arab armies had failed,” said a leader of Hamas armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, flanked by masked fighters at the statue’s unveiling.
The monument in Gaza City features a life-size model of a large M75 rocket, named in honour of Qassam Brigades founding member Ibrahim al-Maqadma - who was assassinated by Israel in 2003 - and alluding to its range of 75km.
M75 rockets fired from Gaza during the last major war with Israel in November 2012 struck areas around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, almost 70km away.
The unveiling of the black-and-red rocket that points skywards on a stone pedestal came as Israel was showcasing a shipment of arms it claims to have captured on its way from Iran to Gaza.
Iran and Hamas have denied any involvement with the shipment.
A Hamas official at the Gaza City ceremony told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that in any future confrontation with the Jewish state, cities in the far north would be targeted.
