OAN Roy Francis
UPDATED 11:04 AM – Wednesday, May 3, 2023
An unofficial ceasefire was implemented on Wednesday morning along the Israel-Gaza border after fighting had escalated the night before due to the death of a jailed Palestinian.
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The ceasefire was mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations after over 100 rockets were fired into Israel, and Israel had launched airstrikes into Gaza.
Fighting escalated on Tuesday after the death of Khader Adnan, a leader of the Islamic Jihad Faction that has been designated by the West and Israel as a terror organization. Adnan, who has been detained at least 11 times since 2004, had been on a hunger strike for 87 days while he waited for his trail on security charges.
According to Israel’s Prisons Service, Adnan was found unconscious in his cell and taken to a hospital, where after efforts were made to revive him, he was declared dead. Palestinian leaders accused Israel of causing his death, which marks the first time that a Palestinian hunger striker has died in Israeli custody in over 30 years.
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rockets that were fired into Israel, which had injured three peoples in the city of Sderot, including one who had suffered serious injuries. Israeli military officials said that a total of 104 rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel. They also said that 24 of the rockets had been intercepted while 48 had fell into open fields, with two rockets misfiring and landing in Palestinian homes in Gaza injuring five Palestinian civilians.
Israel had retaliated to the rocket attacks and targeted Hamas posts including a military post, a weapon storage and manufacturing site, and a training facility. As a result of the Israel airstrikes, a 58-year-old man in a northern Gaza city had died.
“The strike was carried out in response to the rocket launches from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory earlier today, this strike significantly harms the capabilities and prevents further weapon acquisition capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The IDF went on to say that they had successfully hit 16 targets in Gaza, saying “we attacked everything we wanted tonight” and that Hamas is responsible for “all terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip and it will face the consequences of the security.”
Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht said that the ceasefire with Hamas was not official, however “messages have been passed.”
The Israeli military had assessed the situation after the ceasefire was implemented and decided to return to normal routine “fully.”
“Following the directives of the Home Front Command,” the IDF said. “It was decided to return to the normal routine fully.”
The ceasefire was implemented at 3:30 a.m. local time, with officials from both Israel and Palestine indicating that they do not want any further escalation.
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