Rockets fired from Gaza into Israel after the death of a Palestinian on hunger strike

DAY

Rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Tuesday morning, following reports of the death in Israeli custody of Khader Adnane, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad movement who was on strike from the hungry for more than 80 days. 

The Israeli army said in a statement that three rockets were fired in total, saying that they fell into waste ground.< /p>

Khader Adnane, a native of the northern occupied West Bank, had been imprisoned numerous times by Israel and had already gone on four hunger strikes, becoming a symbol for Palestinians.

The Israeli prison administration announced in a press release the death of a prisoner affiliated with Islamic Jihad, “found unconscious in his cell” and then hospitalized.

The Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian prisoners' club, an association of defense of the rights of Palestinians detained by Israel, confirmed to AFP the death of Khader Adnane at the age of 45.

He had started his hunger strike as soon as his incarceration began on February 5, the prison administration said.

He was charged with helping to organize activities for Islamic Jihad and making speeches inciting violence in support of a hostile organization, an Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity. .

Israel “will pay the price for this crime”, said in a press release the Islamic Jihad, a movement considered “terrorist” by Israel, the United States and the European Union.

“The free hero, Khader Adnane, died a martyr because of a crime committed by the enemy in front of the world, which approves of injustice and terrorism, protects and covers it,” the organization added. /p>

President of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Qaddoura Fares, told AFP that this was the first Palestinian detainee to die in custody in Israel from a hunger strike.

“The Israeli occupation and its prison administration deliberately murdered prisoner Khader Adnane by rejecting his calls to release him, neglecting him medically and keeping him in his cell despite the seriousness of his state of health”, lambasted the Prime Minister Palestinian, Mohammed Shtayyeh, in a statement.

“Devoted martyr”

“I send these words to you as my flesh and fat have melted, my bones are necrotic and my strength has diminished (…)”, wrote Adnane in a letter distributed on April 1 by the Prisoners' Club. “I pray that God will accept me as a dedicated martyr.”

Shortly after his death was announced, rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip where Islamic Jihad has a strong presence, AFP journalists found.

In August 2022 , three days of clashes between Israel and Islamic Jihad had caused the death of 49 Palestinians, including 12 members of Islamic Jihad according to the movement, and at least 19 children according to the UN.

About 200 rockets had been fired by the Islamic Jihad in the direction of Israel, injuring three.

A truce agreement had been negotiated by Egypt.

On Friday, the wife of Khader Adnane, Randa Moussa, had explained to AFP that he refused “any assistance, any medical examination”.

“He is in a cell where the conditions of detention are very difficult. They (Israel) refused to transfer him to a civilian hospital and to allow the visit of his lawyer,” she added.

The prisoner “refused to undergo medical examinations and to receive treatment according to the Israeli Prison Service.