Bombs, Missiles, & Rockets

Hezbollah and Israel are in a "war" of sorts. Every day on my ride to work I listen as the news anchors describe the number of rockets that Hezbollah has launched into Israel (nearly 100, between 100 and 200, over 200, more than a bushel, etc...). Always, the anouncer will "balance" this information by anouncing that Israel continues its "missile strikes in Lebanon". (They never give a number, presumably because it's uncountable.)

They always use the same words, Hezbollah launches "rockets". Israel launches "missiles". So I began to wonder, is there a particular nomenclature just for explosive armaments? "Rocket" and "missile" seem awfully similar words. Is there really that significant a difference?

Apparently, there is. The good people at AnswerBag.com have already tackled this question.

Seems awfully arbitrary to me. Certainly, in the current conflict, there is the implication that Israel's missiles are far more potent and sophisticated than Hezbollah's rockets. Essentially, though, we're talking about the same thing in terms of operation and the outcome achieved (e.g. death).