Israel and the Palestinian armed groups appear to have agreed on a ceasefire following the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip following the death of a Palestinian prisoner. The “mutual and simultaneous” ceasefire came into effect at 3:30 a.m. (local time/2:30 a.m. CEST), two Palestinian government officials told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday. Representatives of Egypt, Qatar and the UN mediated the ceasefire.
The death of hunger striker Khader Adnan in Israeli custody had previously triggered the outbreak of violence on both sides. The 45-year-old was a prominent member of the Islamic Jihad extremist group in the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 war. Israel accused Adnan of terrorism. Like the Islamist Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, Islamic Jihad rejects peace agreements between the Palestinians and Israel and calls for their destruction.
After Adnan’s death, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 30 rockets and six mortar shells at Israel, according to the army. Israel responded with airstrikes on several targets in the Palestinian territory.