The Israeli army declares “return to routine” in the Gaza border area

The Israeli army declared a “full return to routine” in the border area with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. Shortly before, warning sirens had sounded in the area – despite reports that a ceasefire had been agreed overnight between Israel and the ruling Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Air Force had attacked several targets in the coastal strip during the night. Earlier, militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 30 rockets and six mortar shells at Israel after the death of a Palestinian prisoner, the military said. There were injuries on both sides.

According to media reports, Egypt was again active as a mediator between Israel and influential forces in the Gaza Strip to end the fighting.

Death of high-ranking Palestinian

The background to the recent tensions between Israelis and Palestinians is the death of Chader Adnan. The senior member of the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad died Tuesday morning in Israeli custody after nearly three months of hunger strike. The 44-year-old from Jenin in the West Bank was found unconscious in his cell early in the morning, according to prison authorities. After Adnan’s death, several militant Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip announced retaliation. (oee/sda/dpa)