A prominent face of Palestinian resistance to Israel’s detention policies, Khader Adnan died in prison on Tuesday after an 87 day-long hunger strike, Al Jazeera reported citing authorities.
The publication further reported that Israeli jets carried out airstrikes in Gaza late on Tuesday as tension escalated over Adnan’s death. The Israeli move came in the wake of rockets being fired from the Gaza strip with Al Jazeera citing Hamas media to report that Israeli planes hit two locations in Gaza city.
The Israeli Prison Service claimed in a statement announcing Adnan’s death that the 45-year-old had been on a hunger strike since his arrest on February 5 and had refused to receive medical attention while being held.
He was found dead in his cell following his almost 3-month hunger strike, the prison service said, according to Al Jazeera.
Adnan’s passing was also reported by the Palestinian Prisoners Society, which claimed that “the Israeli occupation assassinated Sheikh Khader Adnan.”
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, more commonly referred to in the West as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), also announced the passing of Khader Adnan, a former spokesman for Islamic Jihad, Al Jazeera reported.
The Palestinian militant organisation with Iranian support is behind the suicide bombings and missile strikes that have killed numerous Israelis.
According to Israeli police, Adnan was held in February on suspicion of involvement with a terrorist group, support for terrorism, and incitement. At the time of his passing, he had not yet been tried.
Palestinian political groups declared a nationwide strike in the West Bank to honour Adnan, with all courts, schools, universities, and businesses closing, according to Al Jazeera.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, Palestinian inmates at Ofer Prison, an Israeli military facility in the West Bank, have started a countrywide hunger strike in protest of his passing.