[🇧🇩] Israel and Hamas war in Gaza-----Can Bangladesh be a peace broker?

[Saif]

‘March For Gaza’ came to an end with reading of declaration, presence of huge crowd

The ‘March of Gaza’ mass gathering in Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka has concluded with the reading of the declaration. The event commenced shortly after 3:00 pm today, Saturday and ended slightly after 4:00 pm with the reading of the official declaration.

en.prothomalo.com

‘March For Gaza’ came to an end with reading of declaration, presence of huge crowd
Staff Correspondent Dhaka
Published: 12 Apr 2025, 18: 17

A large number of people joined the ‘March For Gaza’ mass gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on 12 April 2025. Prothom Alo

The ‘March For Gaza’ mass gathering in Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka has concluded with the reading of the declaration.

The event commenced shortly after 3:00 pm today, Saturday and ended slightly after 4:00 pm with the reading of the official declaration.

A large number of people were observed at the gathering. Attendees chanted slogans such as “Free, Free Palestine.”

Leaders from various political parties were present on stage to express their solidarity with the programme. Mahmudur Rahman, Editor of Amar Desh newspaper, read out the declaration and delivered a speech.

Leaders of different parties on the stage of 'March For Gaza' mass gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on 12 April 2025. Prothom Alo

A Facebook event page titled 'March For Gaza' was created by the Palestine Solidarity Movement, Bangladesh.

Leaders from various political parties, including the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, National Citizen Party (NCP) and Hefazat-e-Islam along with representatives from different organisations, Islamic speakers and prominent individuals from various professional backgrounds, have already expressed solidarity with the programme titled March For Gaza.

From early morning, large numbers of people from different parts of Dhaka began moving towards Suhrawardy Udyan to join the mass gathering. Vehicular movement came to a halt around Shahbagh and its surrounding areas.

A large number of people carry out a procession from Shahbagh to the 'March For Gaza' mass gathering at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on 12 April 2025. Prothom Alo

In the afternoon, processions in groups were observed heading towards Suhrawardy Udyan from areas such as Mirpur, Kazipara, Shewrapara, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Banglamotor and Shahbagh. Youths were seen riding on pickup vans, chanting slogans as they proceeded towards the venue.

A significant number of people were also seen arriving by travelling on the roofs of trains from areas including Tejgaon and Khilgaon to participate in the March For Gaza programme.​

 

[Saif]

Israel takes control of key corridor in southern Gaza

Israel announced on Saturday that its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.

www.newagebd.net

Israel takes control of key corridor in southern Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Gaza 13 April, 2025, 01:15

File photo

Israel announced on Saturday that its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The announcement from defence minister Israel Katz came as Hamas expected ‘real progress’ towards a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, with senior leaders from the Palestinian movement scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday.

‘The IDF [military] has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route [along the border with Egypt] and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone,’ Katz said in a statement addressed to residents of Gaza.

‘Soon, IDF [military] operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones.

‘In northern Gaza as well — in Beit Hanoun and other neighbourhoods — residents are evacuating, the area is being taken over and the security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim corridor,’ he added.

Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel’s renewed offensive in Gaza has displaced hundreds of thousands of people while the military has seized large areas of the war-battered territory.

Top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Hamas on Saturday said that the offensive not only ‘kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation’s prisoners [hostages] uncertain’.

Katz’s announcements came ahead of a meeting between Hamas and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday.

The scheduled talks also came days after US President Donald Trump suggested an agreement to secure the release of hostages was close to being finalised.

A Hamas official told AFP that the group anticipated the meeting in Cairo would yield significant progress.

‘We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,’ the official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

According to the official, Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

‘However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing,’ he added, accusing Israel of ‘continuing its aggression’ in Gaza.

The Times of Israel reported that Egypt’s proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies, in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.

President Trump said during a cabinet meeting this week that ‘we’re getting close to getting them [hostages in Gaza] back’.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was also quoted in an Israeli media report as saying ‘a very serious deal is taking shape, it’s a matter of days’.

Since Israel resumed its Gaza strikes, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.

Dozens of these strikes have killed ‘only women and children,’ according to a report by UN human rights office.

The report also warned that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the ‘forcible transfer’ of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising ‘real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza’.

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City on Saturday morning.

AFP footage of the aftermath of the strike showed the bodies of four men, wrapped in white shrouds, at a local hospital, while several individuals gathered to offer prayers before the funeral.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said its air force intercepted three projectiles that were identified as crossing into Israeli territory from southern Gaza on Saturday.​

 

[Saif]

UK foreign minister urges Israel to stop 'deplorable' Gaza hospital attacks

British foreign minister David Lammy on Sunday urged Israel to stop carrying out "deplorable attacks" on hospitals in Gaza after an Israeli strike on one of the territory's few functioning hospitals.

en.prothomalo.com

UK foreign minister urges Israel to stop 'deplorable' Gaza hospital attacks
AFPLondon, United Kingdom
Updated: 13 Apr 2025, 21: 00

People check the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City on April 13, 2025 AFP

British foreign minister David Lammy on Sunday urged Israel to stop carrying out "deplorable attacks" on hospitals in Gaza after an Israeli strike on one of the territory's few functioning hospitals.

"Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began," Lammy posted on X. "These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy not more bloodshed is how we will achieve a lasting peace."​

 

[Saif]

Gaza hospital hit as Israel intensifies assault

An Israeli air strike early Sunday heavily damaged one of the few functioning hospitals in Gaza, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted a Hamas ‘command and control centre’ operating within the facility.

www.newagebd.net

Gaza hospital hit as Israel intensifies assault
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City, Palestinian Territories 13 April, 2025, 17:11

Palestinian rescuers and residents gather on the rubble after an Israeli strike on the Manoun family home in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. | AFP photo

An Israeli air strike early Sunday heavily damaged one of the few functioning hospitals in Gaza, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted a Hamas ‘command and control centre’ operating within the facility.

Since the outbreak of war, tens of thousands of Gazans have sought refuge in hospitals, many of which have suffered severe damage in the on-going hostilities.

The strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza — also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab Hospital — caused no casualties, but came a day after Israeli forces seized a key corridor in the territory and signalled plans to expand their campaign.

It also came as aid agencies and the United Nations warned that medicines and related supplies were rapidly running out in Gaza as casualties surged.

‘The bombing led to the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units,’ Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency said.

It came ‘minutes after the Israeli army’s warning to evacuate’, the agency added.

AFP photographs showed massive slabs of concrete and twisted metal scattered across the site after the strike.

The blast left a gaping hole in one of the hospital’s buildings, with iron doors torn from their hinges. An Iraqi broadcaster said one of its TV vans was also damaged.

A separate air strike Sunday on a vehicle in the central city of Deir el-Balah killed seven people including six brothers, the civil defence agency said.

Mahmud Abu Amsha, who witnessed the strike, said those killed were distributing aid. ‘They do not care about children or people being killed. This aid was being provided to the displaced people,’ he said.

On Saturday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz announced that the military planned to expand its offensive as it completed the takeover of the ‘Morag axis’ between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis.

Patients, relatives and medical personnel evacuated the Al-Ahli hospital in haste following the military’s warning.

Many found themselves stranded in the surrounding streets.

Naela Imad, 42, had been sheltering at the hospital but had to rush out of the complex.

‘Just as we reached the hospital gate, they bombed it. It was a massive explosion,’ she said.

‘Now, me and my children are out on the street. We’ve been displaced more than 20 times. The hospital was our last refuge.’

The Israeli military asserted that Hamas militants were operating ‘a command and control centre’ inside the hospital compound.

Hamas condemned what it described as a ‘savage crime’ committed by Israel ‘with blatant US cover and complicity’, dismissing the claim that the facility was a used militarily.

Qatar, which helped mediate a fragile ceasefire between the warring parties that fell apart last month, also denounced the strike as ‘a heinous crime’.

Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Al-Ahli was heavily damaged by an explosion in its car park on October 17, 2023 that caused multiple fatalities.

Aid agencies and the UN say that only a few of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional.

British foreign secretary David Lammy urged Israel on Sunday to halt the ‘deplorable attacks’ on hospitals, calling for diplomacy to ‘achieve a lasting peace’.

Last month, Israeli forces opened fire on ambulances in Gaza, killing 15 medics and rescuers in an incident that sparked international condemnation.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Sunday that a medic who had been missing since the attack, Asaad al-Nsasrah, was being held by Israeli authorities.

‘His fate had remained unknown since he was targeted along with other PRCS medics in Rafah,’ the group said in a statement.

The Israeli army has said it is investigating the attack.

The Gaza war broke out after Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Gaza’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 1,574 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,944.

The ceasefire had largely put a halt to the fighting in Gaza for two months, but Israel restarted intense strikes in mid-March, with Palestinian militants resuming rocket fire from the territory days later.

The Israeli military said Sunday that ‘one projectile that was identified crossing into Israeli territory from Gaza was intercepted’ by the air force, with no injuries reported.​

 

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/eu-to-boost-financial-support-for-palestinian-authority

EU to boost financial support for Palestinian Authority
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 14, 2025 21:07
Updated :
Apr 14, 2025 21:07

European Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks to the media in Brussels, Belgium March 17, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Yves Herman/Files

The European Union will increase its financial support for the Palestinian Authority with a three-year package worth around 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion), the European Commissioner responsible for the Middle East told Reuters in an interview.

Dubravka Suica, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, said the financial support would go hand in hand with reforms of the Palestinian Authority, which has been accused by critics of corruption and bad governance.

"We want them to reform themselves because without reforming, they won't be strong enough and credible in order to be an interlocutor, not for only for us, but an interlocutor also for Israel," Suica said.

The commissioner's remarks came ahead of a first "high-level political dialogue" between European Union foreign ministers and senior Palestinian officials including Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in Luxembourg on Monday.

The EU is the biggest donor to the Palestinians and EU officials hope the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, may also one day take responsibility for Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas militants comes to an end.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, however, has so far rejected the idea of handing over Gaza to the PA and shunned the EU's broader aim of a two-state solution, which would include the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Suica said 620 million euros would go to financial support and reform of the PA, 576 million euros to "resilience and recovery" of the West Bank and Gaza and 400 million euros would come in loans from the European Investment Bank, subject to the approval of its governing body.

She said average EU support for the PA had amounted to about 400 million euros over the past 12 years.

"We are investing now in a credible manner in the Palestinian Authority," Suica said.​