Hunger striker’s death prompts 24 hours of fighting, with Ben-Gvir pushing for more

Tensions exploded in Gaza following the death of Khader Adnan. A ceasefire was reached after 24 hours but longer- term implications remain.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Gaza militants exchanged fire on Tuesday following the death of a high-profile Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody.

One Palestinian was killed in the hostilities and five were injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. On the Israeli side, three people were wounded by shrapnel in the Sderot area.

The fighting ended in a ceasefire after 24 hours, with political fallout as the Right criticised Israel’s government for too soft a response. 

Khader Adnan, a political leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, died early Tuesday after an 87-day hunger strike to protest his arrest and indictment on charges of incitement and membership in a terrorist organisation. Israeli prison authorities said Adnan had refused medical intervention despite his diminishing health.

Adnan is the first Palestinian prisoner to die from a hunger strike since 1992. Hunger strikes have become an increasingly common tactic used by Palestinian prisoners to protest their arrests and detentions, and Israeli officials in the past have released prisoners undergoing hunger strikes when their health conditions became life-threatening — including Adnan himself.

Following news of Adnan’s death, militants in Gaza launched three rockets and several mortar rounds into Israeli territory. The IDF immediately responded with tank fire.