Khaibar-1
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The Khaibar-1 (Arabic: خيبر-1) is a recently named artillery rocket used by the militant group Hezbollah to attack cities and towns in northern Israel. The name of the rocket was first revealed on July 28, 2006 by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah in a speech on the group's Al-Manar television station.
The Khaibar-1 is significant because it has a 75-km range, longer than most of the Katyusha-type rockets in Hezbollah's arsenal. The rocket was first fired at the Israeli city of Afula, south of Haifa. In early August 2006, Khaibar-1 rockets were reported to hit Beit Shean, about 70 km south of the Lebanese border,[1] Hadera,[2] and Haifa, Israel's third-largest city.[3] The Israel Defence Force claims the Khaibar-1 rocket is a renamed Iranian-made Fajr-5 or Fajr-3 rocket. The Khaibar-1 rocket reportedly has four times the destructive power (about 100 kilograms of explosives) and range of 122mm Katyusha rockets, Hezbollah's until-now standard rocket launcher.
The expression 'Hai-bar' in Hebrew, which is pronounced in the same way as Khaibar, means a breeding ground for animals [4]. This resulted in many Israelis reacting to the name of the rocket with humour.
The name of the rocket is most likely a reference to the Battle of Khaybar, mentioned in the Islamic hadith.
The battle was fought in the year 629 between Muhammad and his followers against the Jews living in Khaybar, an oasis located 150 kilometers from Medina in the area of Hejaz. Hejaz is in the western part of the Arabian peninsula, which has been considered part of Saudi Arabia since 1926. The battle ended with Islam's victory over the Jews while Imam Ali was in command of the muslim troops
Some observers have suggested that the reference to the Khaibar battle is intended to have a psychological impact on Jews, serving as a form of psychological warfare for Hezbollah.
