The conventional “wisdom” is that the armed Palestinian resistance in Gaza (usually called “Hamas” even though it is many groups and tendencies) shoots off all its rockets at random to spread “terror”. Bob Dreyfuss in The Nation says Hamas is “suicidal”. He says Hamas shoots “useless missiles against unseen Israeli targets.”
However, it may be that the fighters in Gaza are actually doing the logical thing, using their crude missiles at the things that hurt Palestinians the most, Israeli military forces. It’s not me who is saying this but the right wing Israeli site “Debka File”. On July 23 they ended a piece with these sentences, “Hamas was focusing on strategic targets, such Israeli Air Force bases and facilities in the south and center. When IDF communiqués report that rockets land in open areas, this does not necessarily rule out their explosion in or near military bases.” The whole article is here.
It may well be that the rocket fire is indeed foolish and counterproductive even criminal, if you like, but on the question of “Hamas’ intentions” the jury is out.
August 8. Whatever the “intent”, these rockets seem to have had no military effect (other than shutting down Tel Aviv airport for a couple of days). The political effect seems entirely negative, to give Netanyahu a half-way reasonable argument for his supposed retaliation. It may seem wrong for someone who pays his U.S. taxes and therefore helps finance the slaughter of Gaza Palestinians to think he has the right to make criticism of people under fire, but there it is.
stanthestruggle 
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