Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said on Wednesday that although the latest round of fighting was over, they will continue their “resistance” attacks against Israel.
The two Iranian-backed groups expressed satisfaction over the firing of more than 100 rockets at Israel in response to the death of PIJ senior official Khader Adnan in Israeli custody after an 86-day hunger strike.
Who was Khader Adnan?
Adnan, 44, a resident of Arrabeh town near Jenin, was found unresponsive in his prison cell early Tuesday. He was rushed to Assaf Harofeh Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Adnan was arrested by the IDF in early February as part of an Israeli security crackdown on PIJ members in the northern West Bank in response to a spate of terror attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. He was formally charged with membership in a terror organization, supporting terrorism and incitement.
Although Adnan’s wide, Randa Mousa, on Tuesday urged the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to avoid a military confrontation with Israel in response to the death of her husband, more than 100 rockets were fired toward Israeli cities and towns before an unofficial ceasefire went into effect at 4.00 a.m. Wednesday.
Palestinian sources said 58-year-old Hashel Mubarak was killed in Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip that came in response to the barrage of rockets fired into Israel.
The Joint Operations Room, a group consisting of various armed groups in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas and PIJ, claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks.
The sources, however, said most of the rockets were fired by PIJ members who received a green light from Hamas to carry out the attacks in response to Adnan’s death. According to the sources, the two groups are not interested, at this stage, in a large-scale military confrontation with Israel.
After the ceasefire announcement, Hamas and PIJ praised the Joint Operations Room for its “courageous response” to the death of Adnan.
“The Joint Operations Room and the resistance factions in the Gaza Strip presented an honorable unity on the ground in this round against the occupation,” Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement.
Qassem said that Hamas “worked in military, political and media channels to make the occupation pay for its crimes.”
Hamas will continue to support the Palestinian security prisoners in particular and the Palestinian people in general, he added.
PIJ, for its part, confirmed that its members were involved in the rocket attacks on Israel in response to the death of Adnan.
“Our brave fighters proved their loyalty and commitment to the defense of their people,” said PIJ spokesman Tareq Izzaddin, adding that his organization will continue the “resistance” against Israel.
“A round of confrontations [with Israel] has ended, but the march of resistance continues and will not stop,” Izzaddin stated. “We promise our people and prisoners that we will continue to work for their freedom.”
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, was quoted as saying that his group was leading “an open battle with the [Israeli] enemy.”
Haniyeh, in a phone call with PIJ Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, said that Hamas and all the Palestinian factions will continue to “pursue the path of Jihad (holy war), martyrdom and resistance.”
Nakhaleh too pledged to continue the fight against Israel “until our land is liberated from the Zionist criminals.” The holy war, he said, “will not stop regardless of the sacrifices.”