Rights and Accountability 3 May 2023
Palestinians stand by the remains of an Israeli missile in Gaza City on 3 May following a day-long exchange of fire between the Israeli military and Palestinian resistance factions in the coastal enclave.
NurPhoto via ZUMA PressA ceasefire came into effect Wednesday morning after a day-long exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza.
On Tuesday, the resistance fired rockets at southern Israeli cities following the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan 86 days into his hunger strike.
An icon of courageous and steadfast resistance to Israeli oppression, Adnan was protesting his prolonged detention by occupation authorities without charge or trial.
The exchange of fire continued until a truce mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations came into effect in the early hours of Wednesday.
Despite Israel’s claims that it targeted military sites belonging to Palestinian factions, Israeli missiles killed a Palestinian civilian.
Palestinian health ministry officials said said Hashil Mubarak, 58, was killed in northern Gaza City. Mubarak’s picture circulated on social media and Palestinians held a funeral procession:
Israeli missiles injured five other Palestinians in the coastal enclave.Randa Musa, Adnan’s wife, had urged Palestinian resistance factions to honor her husband’s wishes.
“We do not want a drop of blood to be spilled now. We do not want anyone to respond to their sheikh’s martyrdom. We do not want someone to fire rockets and for Gaza to be subsequently hit.”
Three foreign nationals in Sderot, an Israeli settlement near the besieged territory, were reportedly injured due to rockets from Gaza.
Still, Israeli politicians raged against the government for its “weak” response and demanded more bloodshed.
“We should have woken up this morning and heard how many terrorists were eliminated tonight in attacks,” Danny Danon, an Israeli lawmaker with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, tweeted on Wednesday.
“Hamas and Islamic Jihad control the reality of half a million of Israel’s citizens. They decide when to shoot and when to initiate and the State of Israel is dragged along rather than being proactive,” said Sderot’s mayor.
Members of Otzma Yehudit – Jewish Power – a party in the ruling coalition that follows the teachings of Meir Kahane – the racist rabbi who founded the violent extremist Jewish Defense League and who advocated the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – boycotted the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Wednesday in protest of the ceasefire.
“A ceasefire for what? What have you done?” Tamar Idan, the head of the Sderot regional council, told Israeli radio, saying that if the rockets were directed at Tel Aviv, the government’s response would have been different.
