Status: 05/03/2023 03:26 am
The death of a hunger striker Islamist has sparked renewed mutual shelling between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Now both sides apparently agreed on a ceasefire.
The background to the recent tensions between Israelis and Palestinians:
The background to the recent tensions between Israelis and Palestinians is the death of Khader Adnan. The senior member of Islamic Jihad died in Israeli custody on Tuesday morning after nearly three months on a hunger strike.
After the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip following the death of a Palestinian prisoner, Israel and the Palestinian armed groups appear to have agreed on a ceasefire.
The “mutual and simultaneous” ceasefire went into effect at 3:30 a.m. (local time/0030 GMT), two Palestinian government officials told Reuters. Representatives of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations (UN) mediated the ceasefire.
Israel responds rocket fire
Earlier, the Israeli Air Force had attacked several targets in the Palestinian territory after rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip because of the death of a prisoner.
Among them were military posts, an arms depot, weapons production facilities and a training facility run by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said during the night.
Israel holds the militant Islamist Hamas responsible for all attacks originating in the Gaza Strip. According to reports from the foreclosed coastal area, explosions could be heard in several places.
Palestinians fire at least 30 rockets
Militant Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired at least 30 rockets and six mortar shells at Israel on Tuesday after the death of a Palestinian prisoner, the army said. According to medics, at least three people in Israel were injured by rocket splinters, one of them seriously. According to media reports, others were treated for anxiety.
During the night, warning sirens wailed again in several cities. In the northern Gaza Strip, a man suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a large rock after an Israeli airstrike, hospital sources said. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip had previously announced that hospitals and emergency services were on increased alert.
mediated by Egypt
As the news site “ynet” reported, since the evening Egypt has been trying to mediate between Israel and influential forces in the Gaza Strip to end the fighting. Hamas head Ismail Haniya announced during the night: “We are making contact with our brothers in Egypt and Qatar to stop the aggression against the Gaza Strip.”
Meanwhile, the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad circulated a video in the Gaza Strip purporting to show its people preparing to launch a rocket. At the end the writing “We haven’t started yet” appears.
Islamist dies in prison after hunger strike
Late in the evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a briefing on the security situation, which was also attended by Defense Minister Joav Galant. “Anyone who tries to harm the citizens of Israel will regret it,” Galant warned.
