Palestinian armed groups fired salvoes of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Tuesday after an Islamic Jihad leader died in Israeli custody following an 87-day hunger strike, the first such death in more than three decades.

Khader Adnan, who was awaiting trial, was found unconscious in his cell and taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead after efforts to revive him, Israel's Prisons Service said.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in blockaded Gaza and the occupied West Bank to rally in support of Adnan and mourn his death, which Palestinian leaders described as an assassination. In Gaza, an umbrella group of armed Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, launched two separate rocket barrages towards Israel.

Watch |&nbsp;45-year-old Islamic Jihad member Khader Adnan dies is Israeli custody

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The Israeli military said at least three rockets were fired from Gaza in the hours after Adnan's death and a further 26 were launched later in the afternoon. Two landed in the southern city of Sderot, wounding three people, including a 25-year-old foreign national who Israel's ambulance service said sustained serious shrapnel wounds.

An Israeli Defence Force official said Israel would respond at a time and a place of its choosing.

Prime Minister Bejnamin Netanyahu held a meeting with security officials to assess the situation and the military said it was investigating how two rockets had penetrated the Iron Dome air defence system.

Since 2011, Adnan had conducted at least three hunger strikes in protest at detentions without charges by Israel. The tactic has been used by other Palestinian prisoners, sometimes en masse, but none had died since 1992.

Adnan's lawyer Jamil Al-Khatib and a doctor with a human rights group who recently met him accused Israeli authorities of withholding medical care.

"We demanded he be moved into a civilian hospital where he could be properly monitored. Unfortunately, such a demand was met by intransigence and rejection," Al-Khatib told Reuters.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tinder-swipes-left-on-russia-to-exit-the-warring-nation-by-june-30-588252">Tinder 'swipes left' on Russia, to 'dump' the warring nation by June 30</a>

Adnan, 45, was a baker and a father of nine from Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Islamic Jihad sources said he was one of its political leaders. The faction has a limited West Bank presence but is the second most powerful armed group in Hamas-ruled Gaza, where Israeli forces fought a brief war against it last August.

Lina Qasem-Hassan of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel said she saw Adnan on April 23, at which point he had lost 40 kg (88 pounds) and was having trouble breathing but was conscious.

"His death could have been avoided," Qasem Hassan told Reuters, saying several Israeli hospitals had refused to admit Adnan after he made brief visits to their emergency rooms.

The Prisons Service said hospitalisation had not been an option as Adnan had declined "even a preliminary inspection".

'Fight is continuing'

Physicians for Human Rights said Israeli authorities had denied requests by Adnan and his family to visit him in prison.

Speaking from the family's home in the northern West Bank town of Arraba near Jenin, Adnan's wife, Randa Musa, said: "Our message to all the resistance groups is, we do not want the weapons that were not used to free the sheikh (Adnan) to be used after his death. We do not want to see any bloodshed."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/sudan-100000-refugees-have-fled-into-neighbouring-countries-number-could-rise-to-800000-un-588196">Sudan: 100,000 refugees have fled into neighbouring countries, number could rise to 800,000 - UN</a>

Adnan's 9-year-old son Ali led a march through Arraba. Perched on a man's shoulders, he chanted, "Khader, you a hero, your name shook the prison!" as dozens followed.

Tuesday's rocket barrages came almost a month after the last cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel and Gaza, which followed an Israeli police raid in the al-Aqsa mosque complex during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"Our fight is continuing and the enemy will realise once again that its crimes will not pass without a response," Islamic Jihad, which preaches Israel's destruction, said in a statement.

Israel said it was cancelling a military drill that had been planned for the areas surrounding Gaza "pursuant to a situational assessment", and was putting staff in security prisons on heightened alert.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Association, Adnan had been arrested by Israel 12 times, spending around eight years in prison, mostly under so-called "administrative detention" - or detention without charges.

Israel says such detentions are required when evidence cannot be revealed in court due to the need to keep intelligence sources secret. Palestinians and rights groups say they deny due process of law.

This time, Adnan was arrested and indicted in an Israeli military court on charges that included links to an outlawed group and incitement to violence, the Prisons Service said.

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Palestinian armed groups fired salvoes of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Tuesday after an Islamic Jihad leader died in Israeli custody following an 87-day hunger strike, the first such death in more than three decades.

Palestinian armed groups fired salvoes of rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Tuesday after an Islamic Jihad leader died in Israeli custody following an 87-day hunger strike, the first such death in more than three decades. Khader Adnan, who was awaiting trial, was found unconscious in his cell and taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead after efforts to revive him, Israel's Prisons Service said. Hundreds of people took to the streets in blockaded Gaza and the occupied West Bank to rally in support of Adnan and mourn his death, which Palestinian leaders described as an assassination. In Gaza, an umbrella group of armed Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, launched two separate rocket barrages towards Israel. Watch | 45-year-old Islamic Jihad member Khader Adnan dies is Israeli custody The Israeli military said at least three rockets were fired from Gaza in the hours after Adnan's death and a further 26 were launched later in the afternoon. Two landed in the southern city of Sderot, wounding three people, including a 25-year-old foreign national who Israel's ambulance service said sustained serious shrapnel wounds. An Israeli Defence Force official said Israel would respond at a time and a place of its choosing. Prime Minister Bejnamin Netanyahu held a meeting with security officials to assess the situation and the military said it was investigating how two rockets had penetrated the Iron Dome air defence system. Since 2011, Adnan had conducted at least three hunger strikes in protest at detentions without charges by Israel. The tactic has been used by other Palestinian prisoners, sometimes en masse, but none had died since 1992. Adnan's lawyer Jamil Al-Khatib and a doctor with a human rights group who recently met him accused Israeli authorities of withholding medical care. "We demanded he be moved into a civilian hospital where he could be properly monitored. Unfortunately, such a demand was met by intransigence and rejection," Al-Khatib told Reuters. Also read | Tinder 'swipes left' on Russia, to 'dump' the warring nation by June 30 Adnan, 45, was a baker and a father of nine from Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Islamic Jihad sources said he was one of its political leaders. The faction has a limited West Bank presence but is the second most powerful armed group in Hamas-ruled Gaza, where Israeli forces fought a brief war against it last August. Lina Qasem-Hassan of Physicians for Human Rights in Israel said she saw Adnan on April 23, at which point he had lost 40 kg (88 pounds) and was having trouble breathing but was conscious. "His death could have been avoided," Qasem Hassan told Reuters, saying several Israeli hospitals had refused to admit Adnan after he made brief visits to their emergency rooms. The Prisons Service said hospitalisation had not been an option as Adnan had declined "even a preliminary inspection". 'Fight is continuing' Physicians for Human Rights said Israeli authorities had denied requests by Adnan and his family to visit him in prison. Speaking from the family's home in the northern West Bank town of Arraba near Jenin, Adnan's wife, Randa Musa, said: "Our message to all the resistance groups is, we do not want the weapons that were not used to free the sheikh (Adnan) to be used after his death. We do not want to see any bloodshed." Also read | Sudan: 100,000 refugees have fled into neighbouring countries, number could rise to 800,000 - UN Adnan's 9-year-old son Ali led a march through Arraba. Perched on a man's shoulders, he chanted, "Khader, you a hero, your name shook the prison!" as dozens followed. Tuesday's rocket barrages came almost a month after the last cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel and Gaza, which followed an Israeli police raid in the al-Aqsa mosque complex during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "Our fight is continuing and the enemy will realise once again that its crimes will not pass without a response," Islamic Jihad, which preaches Israel's destruction, said in a statement. Israel said it was cancelling a military drill that had been planned for the areas surrounding Gaza "pursuant to a situational assessment", and was putting staff in security prisons on heightened alert. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Association, Adnan had been arrested by Israel 12 times, spending around eight years in prison, mostly under so-called "administrative detention" - or detention without charges. Israel says such detentions are required when evidence cannot be revealed in court due to the need to keep intelligence sources secret. Palestinians and rights groups say they deny due process of law. This time, Adnan was arrested and indicted in an Israeli military court on charges that included links to an outlawed group and incitement to violence, the Prisons Service said. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Rockets fired from Gaza after Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israeli custody

Rockets and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/death-toll-rises-to-12-in-israeli-retaliatory-strike-in-gaza-strip-216171">missiles from Gaza</a> killed four civilians in Israel, while Israeli strikes killed 19 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, in surging cross-border fighting on Sunday, according to Gazan officials and the Israeli military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military to continue "massive strikes" against Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Islamic Jihad in the most serious border clashes since a spate of fighting in November.

Israel's military said that more than 600 rockets and other projectiles - over 150 of them intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system - had been fired at southern Israeli cities and villages since Friday.

It said it attacked more than 260 targets belonging to Gaza militant groups. Gaza officials said Israeli air strikes and artillery fire killed 27 people, including 14 civilians, since Friday.

A rocket that hit a house in Ashkelon on Sunday killed a 58-year-old man, police said. He was the first such Israeli civilian fatality since the seven-week Gaza war in 2014.

Another rocket strike killed a factory worker, a hospital official said. The military said a civilian was killed near the border by an anti-tank missile fired at his car from Gaza and a fourth died when a rocket struck the city of Ashdod.

In Gaza, militant groups identified eight fighters killed in Israeli strikes, while medical officials said that nine civilians also died, including a couple and their baby daughter.

In what it said was a separate, targeted attack, Israel's military killed Hamed Ahmed Al-Khodary, a Hamas commander. The military said he was responsible for transferring funds from Iran to armed factions in Gaza. Hamas confirmed Khodary had been killed.

The attack on his car was the first such killing by Israel of a top militant since the war five years ago. Israel had suspended what Palestinians call an assassination policy in an attempt to lower tensions.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a statement late on Sunday saying his group was not seeking a broader conflict and held out the possibility of a ceasefire, although sirens warning of rocket fire continued to sound in Israeli cities into the night.

President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-support-israel-100-in-its-defence-of-its-citizens-says-donald-trump-on-gaza-escalation-216211">Donald Trump expressed full US support for Israel </a>and called for an end to the rocket attacks, saying Gazans would only face more hardship and that it was time to seek peace.

"Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defence of its citizens... To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace - it can happen!," Trump said in a message on Twitter.

&nbsp;

Sirens and explosions

The sounds of sirens and explosions reverberated on both sides of the frontier on Sunday, fraying nerves and keeping schools closed.

Israel halted supplies from its main natural gas field. The Tamar field's offshore production platform is in range of Palestinian rockets. Israel also stopped fuel imports into Gaza through the main Kerem Shalom crossing.

The latest round of violence began two days ago when an Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

Islamic Jihad accused Israel of delaying implementation of previous understandings brokered by Egypt in an effort to end violence and ease blockaded Gaza's economic hardship.

This time, Israeli strategic affairs analysts said, both Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants appeared to believe they had some leverage to press for concessions from Israel, where independence day celebrations begin on Wednesday.

In two weeks, Israel is also hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, the target of a Gaza rocket attack in March. That attack caused no damage. On Sunday, sirens sounded in the city of Rehovot, 17 km (11 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu, who doubles as defence minister, convened his security Cabinet, which issued a statement saying it had ordered the military "to continue its strikes and to prepare for the next stages".

Ramadan approaching

For residents in Gaza, the escalation comes a day before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the territory on Monday. It is traditionally a time for prayer, family feasts to break daylight fast and shopping.

Among the 14 Gazan civilians killed since Friday was a 14-month-old child and the child's aunt, according to the health ministry. Israel's military said the intelligence information showed they were killed by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

In Gaza, two Palestinian human rights groups described the cause of their deaths as an explosion with an as yet undetermined source.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the firing of rockets into Israel and urged all parties to "exercise maximum restraint". A U.N. envoy said it was working with Egypt to try to end the fighting.

Israeli bombings in Gaza destroyed four multi-storey structures. Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings, which it alleged housed Hamas security facilities before they were hit.

Saeed Al-Nakhala, an owner of a clothing store in one of the buildings, said he had no time to save his merchandise.

"I was together with my son in the shop, there was a big noise and then another and people started to run. We left everything behind and escaped," said Nakhala.

Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, the economy of which has suffered years of Israeli and Egyptian blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts and sanctions by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas' West Bank-based rival.

Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew its settlers and troops from the area.

Rockets and missiles from Gaza killed four civilians in Israel, while Israeli strikes killed 19 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, in surging cross-border fighting on Sunday, according to Gazan officials and the Israeli military.

Rockets and missiles from Gaza killed four civilians in Israel, while Israeli strikes killed 19 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, in surging cross-border fighting on Sunday, according to Gazan officials and the Israeli military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military to continue "massive strikes" against Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Islamic Jihad in the most serious border clashes since a spate of fighting in November. Israel's military said that more than 600 rockets and other projectiles - over 150 of them intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system - had been fired at southern Israeli cities and villages since Friday. It said it attacked more than 260 targets belonging to Gaza militant groups. Gaza officials said Israeli air strikes and artillery fire killed 27 people, including 14 civilians, since Friday. A rocket that hit a house in Ashkelon on Sunday killed a 58-year-old man, police said. He was the first such Israeli civilian fatality since the seven-week Gaza war in 2014. Another rocket strike killed a factory worker, a hospital official said. The military said a civilian was killed near the border by an anti-tank missile fired at his car from Gaza and a fourth died when a rocket struck the city of Ashdod. In Gaza, militant groups identified eight fighters killed in Israeli strikes, while medical officials said that nine civilians also died, including a couple and their baby daughter. In what it said was a separate, targeted attack, Israel's military killed Hamed Ahmed Al-Khodary, a Hamas commander. The military said he was responsible for transferring funds from Iran to armed factions in Gaza. Hamas confirmed Khodary had been killed. The attack on his car was the first such killing by Israel of a top militant since the war five years ago. Israel had suspended what Palestinians call an assassination policy in an attempt to lower tensions. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh issued a statement late on Sunday saying his group was not seeking a broader conflict and held out the possibility of a ceasefire, although sirens warning of rocket fire continued to sound in Israeli cities into the night. President Donald Trump expressed full US support for Israel and called for an end to the rocket attacks, saying Gazans would only face more hardship and that it was time to seek peace. "Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defence of its citizens... To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace - it can happen!," Trump said in a message on Twitter. Sirens and explosions The sounds of sirens and explosions reverberated on both sides of the frontier on Sunday, fraying nerves and keeping schools closed. Israel halted supplies from its main natural gas field. The Tamar field's offshore production platform is in range of Palestinian rockets. Israel also stopped fuel imports into Gaza through the main Kerem Shalom crossing. The latest round of violence began two days ago when an Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military. Islamic Jihad accused Israel of delaying implementation of previous understandings brokered by Egypt in an effort to end violence and ease blockaded Gaza's economic hardship. This time, Israeli strategic affairs analysts said, both Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants appeared to believe they had some leverage to press for concessions from Israel, where independence day celebrations begin on Wednesday. In two weeks, Israel is also hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, the target of a Gaza rocket attack in March. That attack caused no damage. On Sunday, sirens sounded in the city of Rehovot, 17 km (11 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv. Netanyahu, who doubles as defence minister, convened his security Cabinet, which issued a statement saying it had ordered the military "to continue its strikes and to prepare for the next stages". Ramadan approaching For residents in Gaza, the escalation comes a day before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the territory on Monday. It is traditionally a time for prayer, family feasts to break daylight fast and shopping. Among the 14 Gazan civilians killed since Friday was a 14-month-old child and the child's aunt, according to the health ministry. Israel's military said the intelligence information showed they were killed by a misfired Palestinian rocket. In Gaza, two Palestinian human rights groups described the cause of their deaths as an explosion with an as yet undetermined source. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the firing of rockets into Israel and urged all parties to "exercise maximum restraint". A U.N. envoy said it was working with Egypt to try to end the fighting. Israeli bombings in Gaza destroyed four multi-storey structures. Witnesses said the Israeli military had warned people inside to evacuate the buildings, which it alleged housed Hamas security facilities before they were hit. Saeed Al-Nakhala, an owner of a clothing store in one of the buildings, said he had no time to save his merchandise. "I was together with my son in the shop, there was a big noise and then another and people started to run. We left everything behind and escaped," said Nakhala. Some 2 million Palestinians live in Gaza, the economy of which has suffered years of Israeli and Egyptian blockades as well as recent foreign aid cuts and sanctions by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas' West Bank-based rival. Israel says its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas, with which it has fought three wars since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew its settlers and troops from the area.

Death toll rises in surging Israel-Gaza fighting; 27 dead, including 14 civilians

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Rockets fired from Gaza after Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israeli custody

Death toll rises in surging Israel-Gaza fighting; 27 dead, including 14 civilians