Minister for the Middle East, Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt MP, this week said that the Government is “gravely concerned” by recent increases in rocket fire from Gaza at Israel, in response to a written question by Conservative MP Chris Davies.
Chris Davies MP had asked the Foreign Secretary “what recent reports he has received of rocket fire into Israel from Gaza”.
The Middle East Minister responded: “We are gravely concerned by recent increases in terrorist rocket fire. Since the 6th December 2017, 27 rockets have been fired from the Gaza strip. Rocket attacks wreak havoc on the daily lives of Israelis and make achieving peace more difficult. We call on all parties to refrain from violence and to commit to a negotiated solution to end the conflict”.
December saw the largest incidence of rocket fire from the Strip since the 2014 Israel-Hamas war with new daily attacks. According to Israeli assessments, the rockets are not being launched by Hamas, but by other terror groups in Gaza.
There were at least 56 rockets fired towards Israel in 2017. Over 48 rockets were fired from Gaza, landing in southern Israel, and over eight were fired by Islamic-State affiliated militants in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Since the 2014 war, there have been, on average, around one or two missiles per month fired towards civilian areas in Israel from Gaza, in violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
