Over 100 rockets fired into Israel from Gaza in under 24 hours

The Otzma Yehudit faction in the Knesset will boycott any votes in the Knesset on Wednesday and hold a special faction meeting in the Gaza border town of Sderot following what they called a "weak response in Gaza," the party announced on Wednesday morning.

Coalition whip MK Ofir Katz and Ministerial Liaison to the Knesset, David Amsalem (Likud), told Ben-Gvir that his conduct was "unacceptable," Walla News reported.

Otzma Yehudit has six Knesset members, and without it the coalition only has 58 votes, versus the opposition's 56. The coalition on Wednesday morning demanded that all its members attend the Knesset plenum in order not to lose votes, Walla News added.

A total of 104 rockets were fired into Israel between Tuesday and Wednesday, most by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad with some minor participation from Hamas, the IDF confirmed on Wednesday morning.

In response, Israel countered with approximately 16 airstrikes, mostly on Hamas positions, to hold the group responsible for what occurs in Gaza.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said that despite an apparent ceasefire starting around 5:30 a.m. “all options are on the table” should any Palestinian group fire additional rockets at Israel.

Most of the Israeli strikes in Gaza focused on Hamas’ armament capabilities, including weapons factories, operational headquarters for its naval forces, underground tunnels and other similar sites, with indications that only one Hamas member was killed.

Despite the low number of casualties on the Gaza side, Hagari denied that Israel had avoided targeting Hamas sites with personnel who were present.

The IDF has released footage of overnight strikes carried out against Hamas targets inside the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday morning.

The IDF strikes come after a night of rocket fire from Hamas and other Palestinian terror factions inside the strip.

Throughout Tuesday evening and into early Wednesday morning, at least 32 rockets and mortars were fired into Israel from Gaza, with two of them hitting the border town of Sderot and wounding at least 12 civilians.

Following an IDF security assessment held early Wednesday morning and a night of red alerts and rocket sirens, it was decided that activity can resume in the Israeli communities on the Gaza border as normal, with no special security measures remaining in place.

Schools will be open normal.

The IDF struck targets in Gaza on Tuesday night and in the early hours of Wednesday morning after at least 32 rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel throughout the day with two rockets even hitting Sderot and wounding at least 12 civilians.

A senior security official said that there would be additional responses from the IDF.

The first round of rockets started just hours after Palestinian Islamic Jihad official Khader Adnan died following a three-month-long hunger strike against his being held in administrative detention. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad both took responsibility for the rocket fire.

Of the first three rockets, fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Tuesday morning, all landed in open areas near the Gaza border. During that round of rockets, the IDF decided that there was no need to activate the Iron Dome missile defense batteries.

The IDF then responded with tank fire on one Hamas military position, a relatively light reaction.

Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza agreed to a ceasefire early on Wednesday, two Palestinian officials said, after the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody a day earlier sparked cross-border exchanges of fire.

The "reciprocal and simultaneous" ceasefire went into effect at 3:30 a.m. Israel time and was brought about with efforts from Egyptian, Qatari and United Nations officials, the sources told Reuters.

Hamas said its chief Ismail Haniyeh was in talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials to end Israeli "aggression on Gaza," in a statement by the group on Tuesday night.

Israeli jets struck military targets across Gaza on Tuesday in response to rocket barrages fired by terrorist groups earlier in the day following the death of a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody.

The IDF struck an area that was used as a Hamas training camp as well as a weapons storage facility and a weapons manufacturing factory on Tuesday night, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

The death of Islamic Jihad official Khader Adnan is an Israeli failure, but it could escalate violence against Israel on a number of fronts.

Other prisoners may go on a hunger strike. Islamic Jihad already fired three rockets into Israel Tuesday morning and later Hamas fired another 22 rockets on Thursday afternoon, with potentially more on the way.

Those associated with the group Jihad in the West Bank could also increase their efforts to perpetrate acts of terrorism against Israelis in Adnan’s name.

Yet, his death, in and of itself, will probably not lead to a full-scale war – at least not yet.

But before we decipher why the worst is unlikely, we need to understand how Israel fell into this trap.

A girl holds up pieces of shrapnel arranged on an Israeli flag after a rocket, launched from Gaza, landed in Sderot, southern Israel, May 2, 2023. (credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

How did Israel fall into this trap with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad?

Adnan was an activist for Jihad and at times declared himself its spokesman in the West Bank. Reports vary but his activities for the terrorist organization led to him being arrested around a dozen times. He also undertook hunger strikes a number of times. Two of his hunger strikes, in 2012 and 2015, led to his early release through compromise deals with Israeli security officials.

One thing that was different about his most recent detention was that he was slated to go on criminal trial for terrorism charges (membership in a terrorist organization but not actually carrying out any violence) – whereas in the past he had been placed in administrative detention.

Administrative detention is heavily criticized internationally because it is not a criminal indictment, but most detainees are released within six months to two years. In contrast, the impending charges could have put him in jail for longer.

This may have been the reason that Adnan this time appeared to refuse medical care and some of the compromises he had agreed to in earlier rounds.

But why did Israel charge him and how did it think this would turn out after previous rounds where Adnan at least partially used hunger strikes to win an early release? Did Israel really think this would end with some kind of a victory?

Did Israel really think this would end with some kind of victory?

If he was a violent terrorist, then he had to be arrested to stop future terrorism. But neither past nor the current charges reflected violent actions.

So in some ways, while Israel had every legal right to arrest a senior associate in a terror group, this was a public relations exercise.

Once we enter the realm of public relations, pretty much only the result matters – and this result was an utter failure, making Israel look guilty in the eyes of the world, while also receiving rocket fire.

By the same token, this explains some of why there will be no war yet.

Israel fights conflicts when it feels its legitimacy is on the rise. It also fights wars if serious security lines are breached, like rocket attacks on Tel Aviv.

Despite injuries in Sderot, which will likely lead to a more serious Israeli reaction than Israel’s first reaction of tank fire on only one Hamas position, Jerusalem really does not want war right now.

None of this means that there may not be a war with Gaza over the horizon.

Israeli deterrence with Gaza has been repeatedly violated over the last five weeks and is expected to hit back harder later Tuesday or Wednesday.

But unless Islamic Jihad violates the status quo enough to warrant a breach of the problematic “informal understandings” between Jerusalem and Gaza – that attacking Sderot is not as serious as hitting a more central city – the next war will still likely wait.

Khader Adnan, a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) political official in the West Bank, died in Israeli custody Tuesday morning, 86 days after he went on hunger strike.

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) said Adnan, 44, was found unconscious in his cell. He had refused to undergo medical examinations or receive treatment during the hunger strike, according to IPS.

Adnan was transferred to the Assaf Harofeh Hospital (Shamir Medical Center) while undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation but was later pronounced dead.

A warning to Israel

Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials had warned that Israel would “pay a heavy price” should Adnan die in custody.

On Monday, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said that the top PIJ official was in critical condition and could die at any moment.

Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan is greeted upon his release from an Israeli jail, in the West Bank village of Arabeh near Jenin July 12, 2015. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER/FILE PHOTO)

Adnan is the most senior PIJ official to die in Israeli custody in recent years. He was arrested last February on charges of membership in a terror organization and incitement.

A resident of the town of Arrabeh near Jenin, Adnan was one of the masterminds of hunger strikes by Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli jails. He himself had gone on hunger strikes a number of times during his previous incarceration.

Adnan previously spent a total of eight years in Israeli prison on charges related to his activities on behalf of PIJ. He was arrested as part of an Israeli security crackdown on PIJ terrorists and infrastructure in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian factions call for escalation after Adnan's death

The PIJ said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel bears full responsibility for the "heinous crime" and "will pay the price."

The statement described Adnan as a “martyr” and “brave leader” and said that PIJ “won’t abandon the path of Jihad [holy war] and resistance as long as Palestine remains under occupation.”

Hamas also vowed to avenge Adnan’s death, dubbing it an “assassination.”

“We hold the criminal occupation and its fascist extremist government fully responsible for this premeditated crime,” Hamas said in a separate statement. “The criminal occupation will pay the price for this crime.”

Palestinians rally holding posters following the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan during a hunger strike in an Israeli jail, near Jenin in the West Bank, May 2, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/RANEEN SAWAFTA)

Hamas said that the Palestinian factions will step up the “resistance” against Israel by all means and tools.”

The Palestinian Authority also held the Israeli government “fully responsible for the execution of Khader Adnan," and The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Ministry added that it would bring the case of Adnan before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israeli authorities of “assassinating” Adnan by refusing to release him and keeping him in a cell despite his critical condition.

A general strike was announced in several areas of the West Bank in protest of the death of Adnan.

The Goldin family called on Israel not to release Adnan's body until Hamas returns the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, both of whom are presumed to have been killed during the 2014 Gaza war. Hamas is believed to be holding their bodies and to have imprisoned two Israeli citizens Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.

"We are calling on the members of the government, the cabinet and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, to use this lever on the enemy that is firing rockets at the south. Make sure you stand behind the IDF soldiers and send them home," the Goldin family said.