Many of the Grad missiles currently being used to attack Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and other Negev cities were taken directly across the border between Gaza and Egypt, security officials said Thursday. The rockets were imported from Egypt while the border fence was down at the beginning of this year. Hamas terrorists blew down barriers at the border in what they said was a move to help Gaza's civilian population.

The border was resealed by Egyptian troops several days later, but not before hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents had managed to travel to and from Egypt to buy goods. After the border was closed, terrorists continued to import missiles and other advanced weapons using a series of tunnels beneath the border town of Rafiah.