Israel agrees to ceasefire after bombing Gaza overnight, one Palestinian killed and five injured

Israel started bombing the besieged Palestinian territory after Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched rockets inside Israel following the death of Khader Adnan. Adnan, an administrative detainee, was on a hunger strike in prison for 87 days 

May 03, 2023 by Peoples Dispatch
Israel bombs Gaza
(Photo: Times of Gaza/Twitter)

After carrying out multiple airstrikes overnight in the besieged Gaza strip, Israel agreed to a ceasefire after reaching an agreement with Palestinian resistance groups on Wednesday, May 3. According to Reuters, the ceasefire was mediated by Egyptian, Qatari, and United Nations officials and came into force at around 3:30 am on Wednesday. 

The ceasefire is “reciprocal and simultaneous,” according to two unnamed Palestinian officials quoted by Reuters

The latest Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple civilian areas inside the Gaza strip, including locations south of Gaza city, near Jabalia in the north of the territory, and Khas Yunis in the south. The strikes continued throughout the night on Tuesday and early morning on Wednesday. 

According to the Palestinian Information Center, at least one Palestinian was killed and five others were injured in one of the attacks carried out early morning on Wednesday. According to the Palestinian Wafa news agency, the attacks also caused “massive damage” to civilian infrastructure.    

Israel claimed that it had responded to multiple rockets being fired from Gaza into its territory following news of the death of Palestinian prisoner Khaler Adnan, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad resistance group, who had been on hunger strike inside an Israeli prison for 87 days to protest his administrative detention. Protest marches were taken out by Palestinians across the occupied territories on Tuesday and general strikes were observed at multiple places to demand justice for Adnan. 

Al-Jazeera quoted Islamic Jihad spokesperson Tareq Selmi saying that fighting in Gaza ended on Wednesday morning. It also reported that Hamas confirmed that talks were held between its leaders and the Egyptian, Qatari, and UN officials to end the latest Israeli aggression in Gaza. Both groups admitted that they had jointly responded to the Israeli attacks. 

Since 2005, Israel has carried out numerous attacks inside the densely populated Palestinian territory of Gaza—some of them lasting for weeks—killing hundreds and injuring thousands. It has also imposed a strict blockade of the territory. Repeated Israeli attacks and the blockade have destroyed the economy of Gaza, depriving its residents of basic amenities like food, healthcare, shelter, water and electricity.