A military correspondent for Israel's Channel Two News reported on Tuesday night that many of the mortar shells fired at southern Israel by Gaza-based Palestinian forces earlier in the day were Iranian-made 120mm shells.
The heavy mortar shells have far more destructive power than the locally-produced Kassam rockets, and have a range of up to 5 miles. The speed at which the shells travel also renders useless an early warning system installed in several southern Israel communities to give residents an opportunity to reach safety in the event of an attack.
The report also noted that structural reinforcements on public buildings in the hard-hit town of Sderot were designed to protect against the weaker and slower Kassam rockets, and will not hold up against the Iranian mortars.