Rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning after reports of the death in Israeli custody of Khader Adnane, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad movement who has been on a hunger strike for more than 80 days.
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The Israeli army said in a statement that a total of three rockets were fired, adding that they fell on vacant land.
Khader Adnane, from the northern occupied West Bank, has been repeatedly detained by Israel and has been on four hunger strikes, becoming a symbol for the Palestinians.
The Israeli prison administration issued a press release announcing the death of an Islamic Jihad-affiliated prisoner who was “found unconscious in his cell” and then hospitalized.
Islamic Jihad and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an association defending the rights of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, have confirmed to AFP that Khader Adnane has died at the age of 45.
He began his hunger strike as soon as his detention began on February 5, the prison administration said.
He was accused of helping organize Islamic Jihad activities and delivering speeches calling for violence in support of a hostile organization, an Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Israel “will pay the price for this crime,” Islamic Jihad, a movement classified as “terrorist” by Israel, the United States and the European Union, said in a statement.
“The free hero, Khader Adnane, died a martyr for a crime committed before the world by the enemy who condones, protects and covers injustice and terrorism,” the organization added.
Palestinian Prisoners’ Club President Qaddoura Fares told AFP that this was the first Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli custody from a hunger strike.
“The Israeli occupation and its prison administration deliberately murdered prisoner Khader Adnane by refusing his calls for his release, medically neglecting him and keeping him in his cell despite his serious health condition,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said in a press release.
“Devoted Martyr”
“I am sending you these words as my flesh and fat have melted, my bones are necrotic and my strength has diminished (…)” Adnane wrote in a letter distributed by the Prisoners’ Club on April 1. “I pray that God will accept me as a devoted 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 noted.
In August 2022, three days of clashes between Israel and Islamic Jihad killed 49 Palestinians, including 12 Islamic Jihad members according to the movement and at least 19 children, according to the UN.
Around 200 rockets were fired at Israel by Islamic Jihad, injuring three.
Egypt had negotiated a ceasefire agreement.
Khader Adnane’s wife, Randa Moussa, told AFP on Friday 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 his lawyer to visit,” she added.
The prisoner “refused to undergo medical examinations and treatment,” according to the Israeli prison administration.