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

[Saif]

Huthis will be ‘annihilated’

US President Donald Trump said Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels “will be completely annihilated,” warning Tehran against continuing aid for the group amid an ongoing US military campaign against them.

www.thedailystar.net

Huthis will be ‘annihilated’
Says Trump; Khamenei says US strikes must stop

US President Donald Trump said Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels "will be completely annihilated," warning Tehran against continuing aid for the group amid an ongoing US military campaign against them.

"Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY. Let the Houthis fight it out themselves. Either way they lose, but this way they lose quickly," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The Republican referenced reports that Iran "has lessened its intensity on Military Equipment and General Support" for the Huthis, though added "they are still sending large levels of Supplies."

"Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse -- It's not even a fair fight, and never will be. They will be completely annihilated!" his post continued.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday said that deadly US strikes on the Huthi rebels in Yemen were a "crime that must be stopped".

The United States said its strikes on Yemen targeted and killed several top Huthi officials, while the Huthi-run health ministry said they left dead 53 people and wounded nearly 100.​

 

[Saif]

At least 91 killed in Gaza as Israel abandons ceasefire, orders evacuation

At least 91 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday after Israel resumed bombing and ground operations, the enclave's health ministry said, effectively ditching a two-month-old ceasefire. After two months of relative calm, Gazans were again fleeing for the

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

At least 91 killed in Gaza as Israel abandons ceasefire, orders evacuation
REUTERS
Published :
Mar 20, 2025 23:41
Updated :
Mar 20, 2025 23:41

A child looks on as people mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at the European hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 20, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

At least 91 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday after Israel resumed bombing and ground operations, the enclave's health ministry said, effectively ditching a two-month-old ceasefire.

After two months of relative calm, Gazans were again fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new all-out air and ground campaign against Gaza's dominant Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on residential neighbourhoods, ordering people out of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun towns in the north, the Shejaia district in Gaza City and towns on the eastern outskirts of Khan Younis in the south.

"War is back, displacement and death are back, will we survive this round?" said Samed Sami, 29, who fled Shejaia to put up a tent for his family in a camp on open ground.

A day after sending tanks into central Gaza, the Israeli military said on Thursday it had also begun conducting ground operations in the north of the densely populated enclave, along the coastal route in Beit Lahiya.

Hamas, which had not retaliated during the first 48 hours of the renewed Israeli assault, said its fighters fired rockets into Israel. The Israeli military said sirens sounded in the centre of the country after projectiles were launched from Gaza.

Palestinian medics said Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern sections of the Gaza Strip.

With talks having failed to bridge differences over terms to extend the ceasefire, the military resumed its air assaults on Gaza with a massive bombing campaign on Tuesday before sending soldiers in the day after.

HUNDREDS DEAD

It said on Thursday that its forces had been engaged for the past 24 hours in what it described as an operation to expand a buffer zone separating the northern and southern halves of Gaza, known as the Netzarim corridor.

Israel ordered residents to stay away from the Salahuddin road, Gaza's main north-south route, and said they should travel along the coast instead.

Tuesday's first day of resumed airstrikes killed more than 400 Palestinians, one of the deadliest days of the 17-month-old conflict, with scant let-up since.

In a blow to Hamas as it sought to rebuild its administration in Gaza, this week's strikes have killed some of its top figures, including the de facto Hamas-appointed head of the Gaza government, the chief of security services, his aide, and the deputy head of the Hamas-run justice ministry.

The Islamist group said the Israeli ground operation and the incursion into the Netzarim corridor were a "new and dangerous violation" of the ceasefire agreement. In a statement, it reaffirmed its commitment to the deal and called on mediators to "assume their responsibilities".

For Israel, a return to full-blown war could prove complicated, some current and former Israeli officials say, amid waning public support and burnout among military reservists. Protesters accuse Netanyahu of continuing the war for political reasons and endangering the lives of remaining hostages.

A temporary first phase of the ceasefire ended at the start of this month. Hamas wants to move to an agreed second phase, under which Israel would be required to negotiate an end to the war and withdrawal of its troops from Gaza, and Israeli hostages still held there would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has offered only a temporary extension of the truce, cut off all supplies to Gaza and said it was restarting its military campaign to force Hamas to free remaining hostages.

'WE DON'T WANT DEATH'

The ceasefire had allowed Huda Junaid, her husband and family to return to the site of their destroyed home to camp out in the ruins. But they were now forced to flee again, packing their few remaining belongings into a donkey cart and searching for a new place to pitch their tent near a school.

"We don't want war, we don't want death. Enough, we are fed up. There are no longer children in Gaza, all of our children are dead, all of our relatives are dead," she said.

Some Palestinians who tried to use the Salahuddin road said they saw cars come under fire from Israeli troops advancing towards Netzarim. The fate of those in the vehicles was unknown.

"Bulldozers protected by some tanks were heading to the west coming from the areas where they are stationed near the fence east of the Salahuddin road," one taxi driver told Reuters, asking not to be identified for fear of reprisals.

Speaking to Reuters on Thursday, a Hamas official said mediators had stepped up efforts with the two warring sides but no breakthrough had yet come.

Some residents said there were no signs yet of preparations by Hamas on the ground to resume fighting. But an official from one militant group allied to Hamas, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Thursday that fighters, including from Hamas, had been put on alert awaiting further instructions. Fighters had also been told to stop using mobile phones.

The war erupted after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities near the Gaza border in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.

More than 49,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to Gaza's health authorities, with much of the enclave reduced to rubble.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli warns residents of south Gaza town to evacuate ahead of strike

The Israeli army on Thursday warned residents of the southern Gaza town of Bani Suheila to evacuate their homes immediately ahead of a strike in their area.

www.newagebd.net

Israeli warns residents of south Gaza town to evacuate ahead of strike
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 21 March, 2025, 00:26

People sit in front of a building destroyed during Israeli strikes at the Nusseirat refugee camp, on Thursday. | AFP photo

The Israeli army on Thursday warned residents of the southern Gaza town of Bani Suheila to evacuate their homes immediately ahead of a strike in their area.

‘To all those present in the area marked as Bani Suheila, this is an early warning before a strike. Terrorist organisations are returning to and firing rockets from populated areas... For your safety, head west toward the known shelters immediately,’ Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.

Hamas said it fired rockets at Israeli commercial hub Tel Aviv on Thursday in its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel’s resumption of air and ground operations in Gaza.

Israel said it had closed off the territory’s main north-south route as troops expanded the ground operations they resumed on Wednesday.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said 504 people had been killed so far in the Israeli assault, including more than 190 children. Its previous death toll was at least 470.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired rockets at Tel Aviv in response to Israel’s ‘massacres’ of Gaza civilians.

The Israeli army said it intercepted one projectile fired from Gaza and that two others struck an uninhabited area.

After weeks of stalemate, Israel resumed its air campaign early Tuesday with a wave of deadly strikes that drew widespread condemnation.

The offensive shattered a relative calm that had pervaded in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory since a ceasefire took hold on January 19.

At the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, grieving families knelt by the bodies of their loved ones enveloped in blood-stained white shrouds.

‘We want a ceasefire! We want a ceasefire!’ one of them, Mohammed Hussein, told AFPTV, appealing for the international community to stop the killing.

‘We are defenceless Palestinian people,’ he added.

On Thursday, the Israeli army banned traffic on the territory’s main north-south artery.

Palestinians were seen fleeing south along Salaheddin Road near the Nusseirat refugee camp atop donkey-drawn carts piled high with belongings.

‘Over the past 24 hours, IDF soldiers have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the northern and southern parts,’ army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

Movement along Salaheddin Road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip is prohibited ‘for your safety’, he said.

‘Instead, travel from northern Gaza to the south is possible via the Al-Rashid coastal road,’ Adraee added, without spelling out whether that meant movement from south to north was banned.

Asked by AFP for clarification, the army had no immediate comment.

An official from Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry said the Israeli army had closed what it calls Netzarim Junction, on Salaheddin Road just south of Gaza City, on Wednesday evening.

The official said Israeli tanks had deployed at the junction, where the road artery crosses Israel’s main supply route, ‘following the withdrawal of American special security forces Wednesday morning’.

He was referring to American private security contractors deployed in February after the pullback of Israeli forces under the terms of the January ceasefire.

The first stage of the ceasefire expired early this month amid deadlock over next steps.

Israel rejected negotiations for a promised second stage, calling instead for the return of all of its remaining hostages under an extended first stage.

That would have meant delaying talks on a lasting ceasefire, and was rejected by Hamas as an attempt to renegotiate the original deal.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday deplored ‘an endless unleashing of the most inhumane ordeals’ on the people of Gaza since Israel resumed its military offensive.

‘Israeli Forces bombardment continues from air & sea for the third day,’ Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X. ‘Under our daily watch, people in Gaza are again & again going through their worst nightmare.’

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel’s latest strikes on Gaza a ‘catastrophic crime’ and said the United States ‘shares responsibility’.

The war began with Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Gaza’s civil defence agency had said on Wednesday that at least 470 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its strikes.

Among them was a worker for the UN Office for Project Services who the Gaza health ministry said was killed in an Israeli strike on the agency’s headquarters in Deir el-Balah.

British foreign secretary David Lammy called for a ‘transparent investigation’ into the strike on the UN compound in which a UK citizen was among five wounded.

The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war stands at 49,617, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.​

 

[Saif]

THE GAZA TRAGEDY: Violation of humanity, law and conscience

FOR the people of Gaza, this Ramadan has brought nothing but sorrow — a sorrow deeper than words can capture, especially during what should be a time of peace. The sounds of warplanes, the distant echoes of bombs, and the constant fear of death have turned what should be a month of spiritual...

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THE GAZA TRAGEDY: Violation of humanity, law and conscience
Kollol Kibria 21 March, 2025, 00:00

Protestors rally outside the White House against Israeli bombing of Gaza on March 18 in Washington, DC. | Agence France-Presse/Getty Images/Andrew Harnik

FOR the people of Gaza, this Ramadan has brought nothing but sorrow — a sorrow deeper than words can capture, especially during what should be a time of peace. The sounds of warplanes, the distant echoes of bombs, and the constant fear of death have turned what should be a month of spiritual renewal into one of grief and despair. For the people of Gaza, this Ramadan is marked not by moments of prayer and joy but by the unbearable loss, uncertainty, and an unending cycle of violence.

This year, Gaza’s residents had hoped for a brief moment of respite, a fleeting glimpse of peace, of normalcy. They dreamed that perhaps, just perhaps, this Ramadan and Eid would be different. Perhaps, after so many years of suffering, they could experience a small measure of joy, free from the constant threat of war, free from the ever-present shadow of death.

They dreamed that this Eid, their children would at least laugh in the streets and celebrate with their families without fear. But those dreams have been shattered, and in their place lies a grim reality.

As warplanes continue to soar above Gaza, the sound of their engines is drowned out only by the blasts of bombs falling from the sky. On the eve of Eid, the people of Gaza are preparing for the unimaginable: carrying the lifeless bodies of their children, their parents, their siblings and loved ones ripped from them by airstrikes that show no mercy. These innocent lives, once full of potential, are now buried beneath the rubble of destroyed homes. The children who should have been celebrating the joy of Eid with their families will never get to do so. Instead, their families must bury them, their laughter forever silenced by the brutality of this ongoing conflict.

On March 18, 2025, Israel launched a devastating attack on Gaza, one that has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent men, women and children, including the prime minister of Gaza. In the span of mere hours, homes were destroyed, lives were torn apart, and Gaza was plunged further into despair. The images of shattered homes and grieving families serve as a haunting reminder of the violence that continues to ravage this region. It is a violence that has no end in sight, a violence that disregards every norm of humanity and every law of warfare. The lives of innocent civilians are treated as expendable, their deaths nothing more than a footnote in the history of an unrelenting conflict.

But what makes this tragedy even more heart-wrenching is the continued support that Israel receives from powerful nations, most notably the United States. Despite the overwhelming evidence of civilian casualties and the cries of innocent children being silenced, the US continues to fund Israel’s military operations, providing the weapons and resources needed to carry out these devastating airstrikes. While the US government claims to promote peace and stability in the region, its actions tell a different story. They are complicit in the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, providing the means for more destruction, more suffering and more loss.

Their deaths are not just a tragedy for Gaza but for the entire world, a reflection of the collective failure to protect innocent lives and to uphold the basic principles of humanity and justice.

This Ramadan, the world must confront the harsh truth: the lives of innocent people in Gaza are being taken, and yet the international community remains largely silent. The time for silence is over. The world must demand an end to the violence. The people of Gaza are not asking for much; they are asking simply to live, to be allowed to celebrate Eid with their children, and to enjoy a moment of peace amidst the suffering. But that peace continues to be denied to them, not by their own actions, but by the actions of those who hold the power to stop the bloodshed but choose not to.

How many more lives must be lost before the world acts? How many more children must be buried before we say enough? The cries of the innocent are growing louder, but they fall on deaf ears. It is time for the international community to take a stand, to hold those responsible for these atrocities accountable, and to demand an immediate end to the violence. The people of Gaza have suffered for far too long.

The human cost

THE scale of human suffering is staggering. Over 400 people have been confirmed dead, with more than 500 others injured in a single day. Among the victims are children, who, for the most part, should be playing and learning, not dying under bombs. Gaza’s children, once hopeful and full of dreams, have been rendered powerless against a machine of war that recognises no innocence. Their bodies lie in the rubble of their homes, schools and places of worship, caught in a senseless cycle of violence they did not choose and cannot escape.

Equally tragic is the death of the Prime Minister of Gaza, a figure who had dedicated his life to serving his people amid tremendous hardship. His death is not just the loss of a leader; it is a loss to the entire political framework of Gaza. The repercussions of his assassination will be felt across the region and reverberate throughout the international community. Yet, his death is but one example of the widespread targeting of individuals whose only crime was their involvement in seeking some form of peace and governance amidst chaos.

The world has witnessed, time and again, how children become the unintended victims of conflicts they do not understand. They are victims of both the direct violence inflicted upon them and the long-term psychological toll of living under constant threat. How many more children must die before the international community is forced to act?

Violating international law

INTERNATIONAL humanitarian law, enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and other treaties, is meant to protect civilian lives during conflict. These laws prohibit the targeting of civilian populations and mandate that belligerent parties distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. The recent Israeli airstrikes, which targeted densely populated civilian areas in Gaza, flagrantly disregard these principles.

These attacks, executed in violation of the Geneva Conventions, raise profound questions about the accountability of those who carry out such strikes. According to the conventions, any deliberate attack on civilians constitutes a war crime. The principle of proportionality in international law mandates that the harm caused to civilians should not be excessive in relation to the military advantage sought. However, the indiscriminate nature of the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, killing large numbers of civilians, including children, undermines this legal framework.

In addition to the Geneva Conventions, Israel’s actions also violate customary international law, which includes the protection of civilians in times of conflict. The targeting of infrastructure that supports civilian life, such as homes, schools, hospitals and places of worship, further breaches these legal obligations. The destruction of such critical infrastructure not only exacerbates human suffering but also threatens to destabilise Gaza’s already fragile healthcare and educational systems.

It is worth noting that such violations are not isolated. They have become part of a broader pattern of actions that disregard basic human rights and dignity. Despite the repeated calls from human rights organisations and the international community for Israel to cease these attacks, there has been little accountability or change.

Failure of international diplomacy

WHILE the world watches these horrific events unfold, there has been an agonising lack of meaningful international response. The United Nations has condemned the violence, yet it has failed to take any decisive steps to halt the bloodshed. The United States, one of Israel’s closest allies, has voiced support for Israel’s self-defence claims, despite the overwhelming evidence of civilian casualties. Meanwhile, European nations, such as the United Kingdom and France, have urged Israel to exercise restraint but have not gone beyond diplomatic rhetoric.

This diplomatic paralysis is inexcusable. The global community’s failure to act decisively not only allows violence to continue but also emboldens the perpetrators. In such situations, the international community must ask itself: how many lives must be lost before action is taken? What price will the world pay for standing idly by while Gaza burns?

Holding war criminals to account

ONE of the most pressing issues following this latest attack is the need for accountability. International law cannot be a mere abstraction; it must have real consequences for those who violate it. The death of innocent civilians, particularly children, and the targeted killing of political figures demand a full investigation by international bodies such as the International Criminal Court. The principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for the prosecution of war crimes regardless of where they occur, should be invoked to hold the Israeli military accountable for its actions.

This process must not be hindered by political considerations or diplomatic relationships. The lives of innocent civilians cannot be weighed against the strategic interests of powerful nations. War crimes must be prosecuted, and those responsible must be held to account. If justice is not pursued, the world will continue to witness atrocities such as this, and the hope for lasting peace in Gaza and the broader Middle East will remain elusive.

Role of the international community

THE international community must step up to prevent further violence and ensure that the voices of the oppressed are heard. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to flow freely into Gaza, and all parties involved in the conflict must agree to allow international peacekeeping forces to help protect civilians. Moreover, there needs to be greater focus on the protection of children in conflict zones. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which mandates the protection of children from the ravages of war, should be a guiding principle for all governments and international organisations. Yet, in Gaza, this convention is being flagrantly ignored, as children are killed in their homes, schools and playgrounds.

In addition to immediate relief efforts, there must be long-term efforts to ensure lasting peace. This means addressing the root causes of the conflict: territorial disputes, historical grievances, and the ongoing blockade of Gaza. Negotiations must be reinvigorated, with a focus on creating a just and lasting solution that respects the rights and sovereignty of both Israelis and Palestinians.

As Gaza bleeds, the world must not turn away. The deaths of innocent children and leaders cannot be ignored. The global community has a moral obligation to intervene and put an end to the violence. The first step in that process is a ceasefire, but that must be followed by a comprehensive peace plan that addresses the humanitarian crisis, ensures accountability for war crimes, and promotes long-term peace and stability in the region.

The international community must not only condemn the actions of those who commit atrocities in Gaza but must also take concrete steps to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable. This may require stronger sanctions, military interventions to protect civilians, or the imposition of international peacekeeping forces to maintain order and provide protection.

Most importantly, the lives of Gaza’s children must be safeguarded. No child should have to live in a world where their safety is constantly at risk, where their hopes and dreams are crushed under the weight of war.

The tragic events of March 18 have once again demonstrated the fragility of life in Gaza and the deep injustice faced by its people. But they also serve as a stark reminder of the failure of the international community to prevent such atrocities. We must act now, before the bloodshed continues, before more lives are lost, and before the children of Gaza are forever robbed of their future. The time for words is over; the world must act.

Kollol Kibria is an advocate, human rights activist and political analyst.​

 

[Saif]

World must act to stop Israel

Words fail to condemn the Israeli air attacks across the Gaza strip on March 18 last, that killed more than 400 Palestinians, mainly women and children. Clearly, this is yet another instance of how Israel can defy all international norms with impunity however much the rest of the world except its m

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

World must act to stop Israel
FE
Published :
Mar 22, 2025 00:13
Updated :
Mar 22, 2025 00:30

A child looks on as people mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at the European hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 20, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Words fail to condemn the Israeli air attacks across the Gaza strip on March 18 last, that killed more than 400 Palestinians, mainly women and children. Clearly, this is yet another instance of how Israel can defy all international norms with impunity however much the rest of the world except its mentors in the West may be outraged. The dastardly Israeli attack on defenseless civilians who had just gone to sleep after eating their pre-dawn meal or 'sahri' to observe their Ramadan fasting thinking it was going to be another day of peace under the ongoing 'ceasefire deal' that began on January 19 brokered by the USA between Hamas and Israel. But their shaky sense of relative calm soon turned into a nightmare by another show of 'shock and awe' by Israel since October 7, 2023 when that country first began such combined artillery and air campaign against Gazans in the name of striking military targets of Hamas.

The US-brokered Gaza truce set for implementation in a phased manner started on January 19 through exchange of the first batch of Hamas-held Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. But from the very beginning Israel's claim to unilateralism that it could breach the truce as and when it chose to do it, rendered the ceasefire inherently fragile. So, after expiry of the first phase of the truce on March 1, it was a matter of time when Israel would resume the war, that is, the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Hence is the March 18's Israeli attack, without prior warning. In fact, Israel never fully observed the ceasefire with occasional breaches through blocking the flow of aid that included supply of food, water, power, medicine, etc., for the sustenance of the beleaguered Gazans. Now with the resumption of the full-fledged hostilities by Israel, reportedly, in consultation with the White House, the hopes of peace are getting dimmer by the day in that valley of death called Gaza.

Though Hamas and other Palestinian resistance forces have not as yet retaliated against Israeli attacks to avoid being blamed for breaching the 'ceasefire', their patience, too, must be wearing thin by now with the prospect of restoring peace gradually fading. Meanwhile, there is no visible attempt by the US, the UN or any other international quarters to reinitiate the ceasefire talks. This is indeed a tragedy that the international community seems helpless to stop the genocide of Palestinians! But the world must act to stop Israel from continuing its mindless killing of the Palestinian people. It is no secret that Israel wants Gaza free from all Palestinians. Had the Palestinians fled Gaza for fear of life, that would make the job easier for Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far right cabinet colleagues. Israel's professed objective in the Gaza war that it is hunting down Hamas to rescue hostages and that the civilian casualties are part of unintended collateral damage is an utter lie. The systematic killing of over 49,000 Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israelis so far, according the Palestinian Health Authorities, is deliberate. So, however much the rest of the world might be outraged and overwhelmed by the inhumanity of Tuesday's overnight killings across Gaza, Israeli population and their supporters on either side of the Atlantic may not feel perturbed.

Despite this apparent apathy of the West towards Palestinian lives, one would still like to believe that humanity will prevail and the world conscience would be reawakened to restore peace in Palestine.​

 

[Saif]

Israel expands Gaza ground operation

Israel’s military on Thursday expanded ground operations across Gaza, after it reported missiles intercepted from Yemen and Hamas militants said they fired rockets towards Tel Aviv.

www.newagebd.net

Israel expands Gaza ground operation
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 21 March, 2025, 23:53

Palestinians use a donkey-pulled cart to transport their belongings as they flee Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. | AFP photo

Israel’s military on Thursday expanded ground operations across Gaza, after it reported missiles intercepted from Yemen and Hamas militants said they fired rockets towards Tel Aviv.

The rocket fire from Hamas was its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel’s resumption of aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza this week.

The offensive has drawn widespread condemnation and shattered a relative calm in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory where a ceasefire began on January 19. Talks on extending the truce reached an impasse, and Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza on Tuesday.

Early Friday, the head of Shin Bet — Israel’s domestic intelligence agency — was sacked, days after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the conflict.

Netanyahu on Sunday cited an ‘on-going lack of trust’ as the reason for moving to dismiss Ronen Bar, who joined the agency in 1993.

Late Thursday the military said troops had begun ‘conducting ground activity’ in the Shabura area of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city near the Egyptian border.

‘As part of the activity, the troops dismantled terrorist infrastructure,’ the military said in a statement, adding that ‘troops are continuing ground activity in northern and central Gaza.’

Israel earlier said it had closed off the territory’s main north-south route as part of expanding ground operations that resumed on Wednesday.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said 504 people had been killed since Tuesday, including more than 190 under the age of 18.

The toll is among the highest since the war started more than 17 months ago with Hamas’s attack on Israel.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired rockets at Israel’s commercial centre in response to ‘massacres’ of Gaza civilians.

The Israeli army said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, claimed by Iran-backed Huthi rebels who say they act in support of the Palestinians, for the second time within a day.

US president Donald Trump ‘fully supports’ Israel’s renewed Gaza operations, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when asked if he was trying to get a Gaza ceasefire back on track.

Israel’s military said an air strike had ‘in recent days’ killed Rashid Jahjouh, the head of Hamas’s internal security agency.

In Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, Alaa Abu Nasr said 17 members of his family were killed in an air strike.

‘They are targeting civilians, not fighters,’ he said among the rubble.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that Israeli troops ‘have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the northern and southern parts’.

Movement along Salaheddin Road between northern and southern Gaza is prohibited ‘for your safety’, he said.

Palestinians were seen fleeing south along a section of Salaheddin Road still open, near central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, atop donkey-drawn carts piled high with belongings.

In Gaza’s south, the army warned people to evacuate Bani Suheila before a strike on militants ‘firing rockets from populated areas’.

Government spokesman David Mencer said Israel controlled central and southern Gaza and was ‘expanding the security zone’ and creating a buffer between the north and south.

An official from Gaza’s interior ministry said the Israeli army had closed what it calls Netzarim Junction, just south of Gaza City on Salaheddin Road.

The official said Israeli tanks had deployed at the junction after the withdrawal of American private security contractors stationed there since the pullback of Israeli forces in February, under the ceasefire.

The first stage of the ceasefire, under which Israeli hostages held by Hamas were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, expired early this month.

Israel rejected negotiations for a second stage, demanding the return of all remaining hostages under an extended first stage. Hamas insisted on engaging in talks for phase two.

Under the agreed truce deal, as outlined by then-US president Joe Biden, negotiations towards phase two were to begin during the initial six-week phase.

Mkhaimar Abusada, an associate professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said that if Netanyahu ‘was really interested in releasing all Israeli hostages, he could have gone with a second phase of the ceasefire. But he has never made any commitment to an end to the war’.

Speaking before the UN Security Council, former hostage Eli Sharabi called on the world to ‘bring them all home’, referring to the dozens still held by Gaza militants.

He said he was ‘chained, starved, beaten and humiliated’ during his Hamas captivity.

Resumption of fighting in Gaza has coincided with a reignited protest movement by Israelis who see Netanyahu’s policies as a threat to democracy.

On Thursday president Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, spoke of ‘controversial initiatives that create deep rifts within our nation.’

He also called it ‘unthinkable to resume fighting while still pursuing the sacred mission of bringing our hostages home.’

Hamas appealed to Arab and Islamic nations ‘to take urgent action’ in the United Nations Security Council and other forums to halt the renewed fighting.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel’s latest strikes on Gaza a ‘catastrophic crime’ and said the United States ‘shares responsibility’.

Hamas’s October attack on Israel that began the war resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

The overall death toll in Gaza since the start of the war is 49,617, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.​

 

[Saif]

Fatah urges Hamas to cede power to safeguard 'Palestinians' existence'

"Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men," Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said

en.prothomalo.com

Fatah urges Hamas to cede power to safeguard 'Palestinians' existence'
AFP
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories
Updated: 22 Mar 2025, 23: 13

Children look on as Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, before a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel takes effect, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, 17 January, 2025. AFP

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement called on its Islamist rivals Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the "existence" of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men," Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said in a message sent to AFP from Gaza.

He called on Hamas to "step aside from governing and fully recognise that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians' existence" if it remains in power in Gaza.

Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, and subsequent attempts at reconciliation have failed.

The territory has been devastated by an Israeli offensive in retaliation for the assault by Hamas and other Palestinian militants on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Following disagreement over the next steps in a 19 January ceasefire in the Gaza war, Israeli resumed air strikes on Tuesday, followed by ground operations the day after.

On Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas frees the remaining Israeli hostages seized in the 7 October attack.

Of the 251 hostages taken that day, 58 are still being held, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Nearly 50,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.​

 

[Saif]

Stop the genocide in Gaza

International community must enforce a new ceasefire deal

www.thedailystar.net

Stop the genocide in Gaza
International community must enforce a new ceasefire deal

Our hearts are with the people of Gaza, many of whom have lost their children, loved ones, homes, and the dignity and right to live as human beings due to Israel's brutal and relentless massacre. Throughout Friday, March 21, protests against Israel's genocide in Gaza were held in streets across the world, and Dhaka's streets were no different. After the Jumma prayers, the four-coloured Palestinian flag flooded the premises of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. Ordinary people under the banner of "Aam Janata," as well as other groups, brought out processions demanding an end to Israel's onslaught in Gaza. There have been calls for the government to take diplomatic initiatives through the United Nations and others to stop this genocide.

Since Israel resumed its war against Hamas on March 18, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom are women and children, according to reports by Al Jazeera. Children were killed across so-called "safe zones." Even hospitals have not been spared. The total death toll since Israel launched its war in October 2023, has risen to more than 61,700, according to Gaza's government media office. Meanwhile, the Israeli defence minister has threatened to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas releases all Israeli hostages—whether living or dead. In fact, according to reports by the BBC and CNN, the Israeli minister said they would intensify nonstop strikes from the air, sea, and land and employ civilian and military pressure, including "evacuating the Gaza population to the south and implementing US President Trump's voluntary transfer plan for Gaza residents." Earlier in February, Trump had proposed to build a US-owned "Riviera of the Middle East" in Gaza by expelling 2.1 million Palestinians from the war-ravaged land.

There appears to be little hope for Gazans because Israel is carrying out the genocide with the full support of the Trump administration. While many world leaders, including US allies, have condemned Israel's actions, the Trump administration squarely blames Hamas for breaking the ceasefire deal that had brought relative calm to the Gaza Strip between January 19 and March 18. Unless a new ceasefire deal is agreed upon by Israel and Hamas, Gazans may not see an end to the massacre. Thankfully, mediators Egypt and Qatar have reportedly proposed to Hamas the re-establishment of a truce, an exchange of hostages, and the re-entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been blocked by Israel since March 2. It is urgent and crucial that a new ceasefire agreement be reached to stop the relentless killing in Gaza. We urge the international community to take urgent measures to make that happen.​

 

[Saif]

What will we do for the people of Gaza?

Genocide in Gaza under Netanyahu's regime demands global attention.

www.thedailystar.net

What will we do for the people of Gaza?

Palestinians flee with their belongings Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 21, 2025. Gaza's civil defence agency said on March 20 that 504 people had been killed since the bombardment resumed, more than 190 of them minors. PHOTO: AFP

As the world observes the holy month of Ramadan, Gaza continues to suffer endless bloodshed under Netanyahu. More than 50,000 lives have been lost, with women, children, and the elderly among them, while over 100,000 have been wounded. Most of them lost a part of their body, an eye, a hand or two, a leg or both, suffering permanent disabilities that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Homes have been flattened with people still sleeping in their beds, hospitals have been removed from the face of the earth along with their patients, and mosques have been levelled with worshippers still praying inside. Even animals have not been spared by the most aggressive military force in modern history. The people of Gaza have been robbed of daily essentials such as food, water, medicine, and electricity. They have been systematically denied and deprived, robbing them of their dignity, peace of mind, and humanity.

The Israeli government under Netanyahu was not satisfied with the catastrophic devastation inflicted over 15 months. Contrary to what Israel and some others claim, the recent 57-day pause was not a humanitarian respite. Rather, it was a strategic reprieve for Netanyahu's exhausted military force that was tired of endlessly killing innocent Gazans but has now returned with even greater ferocity, rejuvenated and ready to kill more innocent women and children. Netanyahu himself confirmed this with alarming impudence: "We resumed the war with all our strength, and this is just the beginning"—as if he was threatening a great power and not a tiny strip of land with the majority of its population being women and children.

Then comes his minister of defence, who is even more racist, parroting his master, saying: "Oh people of Gaza, the destruction that the air force has caused is just the beginning, and what is coming will be worse, and you alone will pay the price. You must return all the hostages and expel Hamas from Gaza, and then we will allow everyone to leave Gaza to any place in the world, for whoever wants to." This demand is both unrealistic and revealing, it acknowledges that after more than a year of warfare, Israel has failed to achieve its own objectives despite committing the most heinous massacre in the twenty-first century. Instead, it now seeks to coerce the Gazan population into achieving what its own military could not. The implication is clear—displacement remains their ultimate goal. They offer the people of Gaza permission to leave their own land and disperse themselves across the world as if it is a reward, as if the indigenous people of the land would abandon their homes.

This moment raises urgent questions, not just for Palestinians, but for the world. If the massacre of Palestinians is met with silence today, then who will be next? The paralysis of the United Nations and the Security Council in the face of a single veto from the US sheds light on a troubling reality. International law is simply a tool to be discarded if its implementation is contrary to US interests.

The US, through its military and political support, has made itself complicit in Israel's actions. This is not merely an issue of Palestinian suffering, it is an indictment of a world order where one country gets to unilaterally decide who lives or dies, where power dictates justice, and where the suffering of millions is reduced to a geopolitical calculation.

In this holy month, for nearly two billion Muslims and for conscientious people across the globe, this is a test of principle. If a collective voice is not raised now, what does that say about the mighty values we claim to uphold? The demand is not for war or violence, it is for moral clarity, for a loud and unequivocal rejection of a system that enables war crimes under the guise of security. We are tired of coded rhetoric. The blood of our children forces us to call things by their actual names. A genocide continues in front of our eyes and we have normalised it, just as our enemy wanted. History will show us no mercy, nor will future generations, and most importantly, God will not forgive us for our silence.

The support for Israel by the US, especially under the Trump administration constitutes not just an insult to Palestinians but explicit hostility to humanity itself. Diplomatic statements and carefully worded condemnations are no longer sufficient—history will judge our response, and future generations will ask whether we remained silent in the face of such undeniable injustice.

In closing, I extend my deep gratitude to the National Citizens Party for their statement of solidarity. Their support gives hope to the Palestinian people and strengthens their resolve in the struggle for freedom. It also reaffirms that advocacy for Palestine is not bound by borders and that Bangladesh continues to stand on the right side of history, generation after generation.

Yousef SY Ramadan is the ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh.​

 

[Saif]

Israel presses offensive in Gaza

Israel’s military pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, urging Palestinians to flee an offensive in Rafah city nearly a week into a renewed assault on the Hamas-ruled territory.

www.newagebd.net

Israel presses offensive in Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Jerusalem 24 March, 2025, 00:16

Palestinian children react as they inspect the rubble and debris at the site of Israeli strikes the night before at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday. | AFP photo

Israel’s military pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, urging Palestinians to flee an offensive in Rafah city nearly a week into a renewed assault on the Hamas-ruled territory.

The latest evacuation warning follows a deadly flare-up in Lebanon and missiles fired from Yemen, while Israeli troops are again deploying to parts of Gaza despite calls to revive a January truce.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday that the war, triggered by the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has killed at least 50,021 people in the territory.

AFP was unable to independently verify the figure. Gaza’s civil defence agency said separately, citing its own records, that the death toll has topped 50,000 people.

Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

In a statement on X on Sunday, military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army ‘launched an offensive to strike the terrorist organisations’ in a district of the southern city of Rafah, already the target of a major Israeli offensive about a year ago.

In a message that AFP correspondents said also appeared on leaflets dropped over the area by drone, Adraee called on Palestinians there to leave the ‘dangerous combat zone’ in Tal al-Sultan district and move further north.

At a charity kitchen in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza’s main city just north of Rafah, 19-year-old Iman al-Bardawil said many displaced Palestinians like her struggle to ‘afford food and drink’.

‘We are in the month of Ramadan, which is a blessed month, and people find themselves obliged to come here,’ Bardawil said, lamenting ‘the suffering’ she saw around her.

‘I’m here to get rice for the children, but it’s gone,’ said Saed Abu al-Jidyan, who like Bardawil had fled his home in northern Gaza.

‘The crossings are closed, and my salary has been suspended since the beginning of the war there is no food in Gaza.’

Before its renewed assault, Israel in early March blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza and cut electricity supplies, in a bid to force Hamas to accept the Israeli terms for an extension of the ceasefire and release the 58 hostages held by Palestinian militants.

The electricity supplied by Israel had fed Gaza’s main water desalination plant, and the decision to cut power has aggravated already dire conditions for Gaza’s 2.4 million people.

The Israeli military said troops were also operating in northern Gaza and working ‘to expand the security zone’ there.

On Friday, defence minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the army to ‘seize more territory in Gaza’, warning Israel could annex it if Hamas failed to heed Israel’s demands for the next steps in the Gaza ceasefire.

Hamas has accused Israel of sacrificing the hostages with its resumption of bombardments, while many of the families of the captives have called for a renewed ceasefire, noting that most of those released alive did so during truce periods.

The military said its ‘fighter jets struck several Hamas targets’ in northern Gaza on Sunday.

An Israeli air strike on Saturday on a displacement camp in the Khan Yunis area killed senior Hamas political official Salah al-Bardawil and his wife, the group said.

Murad al-Najjar, who lives in the area, said he ‘heard a very loud explosion. Our tents were destroyed. And we saw that a man and his wife were martyred.’

Bardawil is the third member of Hamas’s political bureau killed in Israeli strikes since last week.

Pope Francis called on Sunday for an immediate end to the Israeli strikes and for the resumption of dialogue for the release of hostages and secure a ‘definitive ceasefire’.

According to the Gaza health ministry, at least 637 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli assault since Tuesday.

The escalation in Gaza coincided with a wave of Israeli air strikes on Lebanon on Saturday in response to rocket fire, which militant group Hezbollah — an ally of Hamas — denied responsibility for.

In the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, the Lebanese health ministry said seven people were killed on Saturday.

On Sunday the health ministry said one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a border village.

Since intense fighting resumed in Gaza on Tuesday, Hamas has fired rockets and Yemen’s Huthi rebels have launched several missiles at Israel.

Early on Sunday, Israel said it had intercepted a missile from Yemen, part of an escalation with the Iran-backed Huthis who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

In Israel, crowds took to the streets on Saturday to protest moves by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and call for an end to the war.

Signs read ‘No more bloodshed’ and ‘Stop the war, Now!’ to ensure the return of the hostages still in Gaza.​

 

[Saif]

Palestinians denounce Israeli recognition of new West Bank settlements

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned on Sunday an Israeli decision to recognise more than a dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank, upgrading existing neighbourhoods to independent settlement status.

www.newagebd.net

Palestinians denounce Israeli recognition of new West Bank settlements
Agence France-Presse . Ramallah 23 March, 2025, 22:05

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned on Sunday an Israeli decision to recognise more than a dozen new settlements in the occupied West Bank, upgrading existing neighbourhoods to independent settlement status.

The decision by Israel’s security cabinet was a show of ‘disregard for international legitimacy and its resolutions’, said a statement from the Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry.

The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to about three million Palestinians as well as nearly 5,00,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.

Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right leader and settler who was behind the cabinet’s decision, hailed it as an ‘important step’ for Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Smotrich is a leading voice calling for Israel to formally annex the West Bank — as it did in 1967 after capturing east Jerusalem in a move not recognised by most of the international community.

‘The recognition of each neighbourhood as a separate community is an important step that would help their development,’ Smotrich said in a statement on Telegram, calling it part of a ‘revolution’.

‘Instead of hiding and apologising, we raise the flag, we build and we settle,’ he said.

‘This is another important step towards de facto sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,’ added Smotrich, using the Biblical name for the West Bank.

In its statement, the Palestinian foreign ministry also mentioned an on-going major Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank, saying it was accompanied by ‘an unprecedented escalation in the confiscation of Palestinian lands’.

The 13 settlement neighbourhoods approved for development by the Israeli cabinet are located across the West Bank. Some of them are effectively part of the bigger settlements they belong to while others are practically separate.

Their recognition as separate communities under Israeli law is not yet final.

Hailing the ‘normalisation’ of settlement expansion, the Yesha Council, an umbrella organisation for the municipal councils of West Bank settlements, thanked Smotrich for pushing for the cabinet decision.

According to EU figures, 2023 saw a 30-year record in settlement building permits issued by Israel.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas accuses US of distorting truth

Hamas on Saturday accused the United States of distorting the truth by saying the Palestinian militant group had chosen war with Israel by refusing to release hostages.

www.newagebd.net

Hamas accuses US of distorting truth
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City, Palestinian Territories 22 March, 2025, 23:59

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a structure hit by an Israeli bombardment in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip on Saturday. | AFP photo.

Hamas on Saturday accused the United States of distorting the truth by saying the Palestinian militant group had chosen war with Israel by refusing to release hostages.

‘The claim that ‘Hamas chose war instead of releasing the hostages’ is a distortion of the facts,’ Hamas said in a statement in response to the accusation from US national security council spokesperson Brian Hughes on Tuesday.

He had said: ‘Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.’

The Palestinian militant group added that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘rejected these initiatives and deliberately sabotaged them to serve his political interests,’ referring to criticism he has faced in Israel, including from families of hostages held in Gaza.

Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza on Tuesday before sending troops back into areas evacuated during the pause in fighting.

Israel says its military campaign is necessary to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages and secure the freedom of about 60 captives, dead or alive.

Many hostage families have instead called for a renewed ceasefire, noting most captives who returned alive did so during truce periods.

In its statement, Hamas accused the United States of equating ‘the aggressor with the victim’.

The mayor of Israel’s northern border town of Metula criticised the government on the same day after the area was targeted with rocket fire from Lebanon, and called for a return to war.

‘We will not return to the reality of October 6th ... and this is what the IDF, the Northern Command, and the Israeli government are trying to normalise,’ Metula mayor David Azoulay told AFP.

Metula, a town of 2,400 residents, was evacuated during more than a year of cross-border exchanges of fire between Israel’s military and Hezbollah.

Azoulay said that since the November truce, just eight per cent of Metula’s population had returned, and that some residents left again on Saturday after the rocket fire.

The mayor called on the Israeli authorities to ‘act offensively and make it so that not one bullet is fired ever again at northern communities’.

‘As far as I’m concerned, we should return to war, even if one bullet is fired towards Israel,’ he said.

Israel’s military said on Saturday it had struck ‘dozens of Hezbollah rocket launchers’ in southern Lebanon.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz ordered strikes against ‘dozens of terrorist targets’ in Lebanon in response to the fire, which has not yet been claimed by any group.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah movement called on its Islamist rivals Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the ‘existence’ of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

‘Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,’ Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said in a message sent to AFP from Gaza.

He called on Hamas to ‘step aside from governing and fully recognise that the battle ahead will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence’ if it remains in power in Gaza.

The territory has been devastated by an Israeli offensive in retaliation for the assault by Hamas and other Palestinian militants on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack resulted in 1,218 deaths, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.

Nearly 50,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.​