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Watch Peter Armstrong's visit to a makeshift Gaza rocket factory from The National on Monday, Nov. 25

As the masked militants poured various explosives into a mixing pot behind me, I began truly questioning my sanity. We were in a small, dank room, hidden deep in the maze of Gaza's alleys.

The militant group Islamic Jihad invited the CBC to visit one of their makeshift rocket factories. This five-man crew claimed to make up to 50 Qassam rockets every day.

Our guide was a 20-something university student, studying English literature. On this day, he wore military-style khakis and a black mask. He and his team are constantly on the move, knowing an Israeli air strike could come any time.

"You feel nervous until you finish because the material is very sensitive. Adding to that, the security status is very dangerous. Israeli drones are hovering all the time. It makes you nervous," said our guide.

Seeing the rockets being made drives home just how crude they really are, and yet they have confounded the might of the Israeli army for years. This year, more Qassams than ever are being fired from Gaza into southern Israel.

Cause and effect

In response to the near-daily barrage, the Israeli army has launched air strikes and limited ground invasions, and prompted several running battles with militants. And yet, the rockets keep coming.

Throughout Israel a debate is raging over how to stop the Qassams. There's constant talk of a large-scale invasion — an understandable sentiment — but most everyone here knows the cost: months bogged down in Gaza, soldiers killed and wounded and likely an enormous number of civilian casualties.

Borders have been closed and Gaza — already destitute — plunges further into darkness: Largely as a result of the work of our hosts, the Gaza Strip was recently declared a "hostile entity" by the Israeli government. This is a move seen by many as a first step toward further measures, among them the planned reduction of power and electricity into the Gaza Strip.

Every time we go to Gaza, it's worse. You see the result on the tattered streets, more and more horse and donkey carts, more and more men sitting idle in their courtyards. Unemployment among men in their 20s is a staggering 52 per cent.

Peace deal breaker

The rockets are seen as a major obstacle to any potential agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. Almost every Israeli I know considers the rocket fire to be both an impediment to peace and the cause of so much hardship in Gaza.

The rocket brigade tells me they see things differently.

Stirring the pot, a handgun strapped to his belt, one militant enthusiastically told me he wants peace. I considered reminding him the first step of the so-called road map requires the Palestinians to "immediately undertake an unconditional cessation of violence," but thought it wasn't the best time.

"Most people in Gaza believe this rocket is made to defend them," said one of the young militants.

Despite all the talk of peace at this week's Mideast conference in Annapolis, Md., those making and firing the rockets say they have a growing arsenal and they have no intention of stopping.

Simple rockets

The construction of the rocket is remarkably simple. The explosives (a mixture of nitrates and "secret ingredients" undisclosed by the militants) are poured into a giant vat. The vat is then placed over the small blue flame of a propane tank. They take turns stirring the mixture, lest it settle and explode. Once it has melted into a gooey, sticky substance, it's poured into the shaft of the rocket.

The explosives then cool. TNT smuggled into Gaza is placed in the head and the rocket is ready to be fired.

The small, crowded room smelled of burning sugar as the nitrates were mixed into the pot. Two rockets stood propped up in the corner and a box of hand grenades was on the floor.

More than 400 of these rockets have landed in Israeli communities like Sderot this year. Most miss their mark, but two Israelis have been killed and hundreds more have been treated for shock. The town feels as though it is under siege.

I asked our guides if they hope the rocket will kill, damage or scare. One says the rockets are only fired at soldiers. I asked why, then, they target the town of Sderot and its civilian population. "We have no computers to guide it," he said with a shrug. "These are simple rockets."

'Legitimate right:' commander

Across town, we met Khalid el Mghari, a commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Dressed in a neatly pressed uniform, el Mghari said his militants make hundreds of rockets every day.

He used a whiteboard to draw a map and show us how militants fire these rockets to better target Israeli towns. He said the rockets are getting more accurate and are now able to target the area of a couple of city blocks. They are Gazans' best means of defence against the Israelis equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry, jets and naval vessels, he said.

"All the weapons that the Israelis are using are legal from the traditional point of view, but homemade rockets are forbidden: how come?"

Pointing at me with a cigarette, he said, "We have the right, the legitimate right, to use the rockets to resist the Israelis."

As the final mixture is poured into the shaft of the rockets, the militants pose for pictures, proud of their handiwork. The rocket will be added to the growing arsenal of Qassams in Gaza.

They wouldn't say precisely when this one would be fired. One militant simply and vaguely said it will be launched "at the suitable time."

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