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

[Saif]

Much for world, Bangladesh to do to stop Gaza genocide

THE wave of protests taking place as elsewhere around the world as in Bangladesh in solidarity with Palestine, demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and condemning US complicity in an expanding offensive in the Palestinian city, that too, in violation of a ceasefire is something that...

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Much for world, Bangladesh to do to stop Gaza genocide
14 April, 2025, 00:00

THE wave of protests taking place as elsewhere around the world as in Bangladesh in solidarity with Palestine, demanding an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and condemning US complicity in an expanding offensive in the Palestinian city, that too, in violation of a ceasefire is something that Israel and the United States should heed for them to act and the world community for it to make Israel and the United States act to end the Israeli brutality. When the roads of the world are swarming with protesters rising up against the Israeli offensive, tens of thousands of Bangladeshis — political leaders, professionals, students and ordinary people — on April 12 marched down the roads in the capital, carrying Bangladeshi and Palestinian flags, banners and festoons mostly reading ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Save Gaza’ and carried symbolic dead bodies to Suhrawardy Udyan, where political parties, civil groups and Islamic scholars gathered under the banner of the Palestine Solidarity Movement. They demanded an end to the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the foundation of an independent Palestine. Official Palestinian figures put the death toll in Gaza at more than 61,700 since October 7, 2023.

But the protests held in Suhrawardy Udyan on April 12 where a declaration outlined the demands for the United Nations, the world community and Muslim world leaders, especially Arab nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Bangladesh government appear hardly critical of the United States. Israel’s genocide in Gaza has, of course, resulted from the nonchalance of the Muslim world, especially Arab nations. But it could not happen without the complicity of the United States. Before the Balfour declaration was made public, it was approved by the United States in early 1918. The west, generally, and the United States, especially, having ignored the historical context has given rise to the current state of the conflict.

The United States, the first country to grant Israel recognition on May 14, 1948, engineered the Oslo accord and the Abraham accord to further consolidate Israel as the colonial settler state in occupied Palestine with support from major Arab states. The Arab world and the United States are both equally responsible for the current state of Palestine and they all should be equally condemned. It is time political leaders and forces in Bangladesh acted in equally condemning Israel and the United States for the genocide and also calling out the United States on doing enough.

The world leaders and the Arab nations should, therefore, rise up to force Israel and the United States to stop genocide in Gaza and effect a sustainable solution to the problems. Political leaders and forces in Bangladesh should also realise that it is no time for them to mince words about the United States when it comes to injustice inflicted on Palestine.​

 

[Saif]

Israel is about to empty Gaza

ISRAEL is poised to carry out the largest campaign of ethnic cleansing since the end of World War II. Since March 2, it has blocked all food and humanitarian aid into Gaza and cut off electricity, so that the last water desalination plant no longer functions. The Israeli military has seized half...

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Israel is about to empty Gaza
Chris Hedges 14 April, 2025, 00:00

| Scheer Post/Mr Fish

ISRAEL is poised to carry out the largest campaign of ethnic cleansing since the end of World War II. Since March 2, it has blocked all food and humanitarian aid into Gaza and cut off electricity, so that the last water desalination plant no longer functions. The Israeli military has seized half of the territory — Gaza is 25 miles long and four to five miles wide — and placed two-thirds of Gaza under displacement orders, rendered ‘no-go zones,’ including the border town of Rafah, which is encircled by Israeli troops.

On Friday Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel will ‘intensify’ the war against Hamas and use ‘all military and civilian pressure, including evacuation of the Gaza population south and implementing United States President [Donald] Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents.’

Since Israel’s unilateral ending of the ceasefire on March 18 — which was never honoured by Israel — Israel has been carrying out relentless bombing and shelling against civilians, killing over 1,400 Palestinians and wounding over 3,600, according to the Palestinian health ministry. An average of one hundred children are being killed daily according to the United Nations. Israel is, at the same time, inciting tensions with Egypt to lay what I suspect will be the groundwork for a mass expulsion of Palestinians into the Egyptian Sinai.

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, echoing Katz, said Israel would not lift the total blockade until Hamas was ‘defeated’ and the remaining 59 Israeli hostages were released.

‘Not even a grain of wheat will enter Gaza,’ he vowed.

But no one in Israel or Gaza expects Hamas, which has weathered the decimation of Gaza and sustained mass slaughter, to surrender or disappear.

The question no longer is will the Palestinians be deported from Gaza but when they will be pushed out and where they will go. The Israeli leadership is apparently torn between driving Palestinians over the border into Egypt or shipping them to countries in Africa. The US and Israel have contacted three East African governments — Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland — to discuss the resettlement of ethnically cleansed Palestinians.

The consequences of wholesale ethnic cleansing will be catastrophic, jeopardising the stability of the Arab regimes allied with Washington and setting off firestorms of protests within Arab countries. It will likely mean the severing of diplomatic relations between Israel and its neighbours Jordan and Egypt, already close to the breaking point, and push the region closer to war.

Diplomatic relations have fallen to their lowest point since the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1979. The Israeli embassies in Cairo and Amman are largely empty with Israeli staff withdrawn over security concerns following the October 7 incursion into Israel by Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions. Egypt has refused to accept the credentials of Uri Rothman, who was appointed to be the Israeli ambassador last September. Egypt did not name a new ambassador to Israel when former ambassador, Khaled Azmi, was recalled last year.

Israeli officials are accusing Egypt of violating the Camp David accords by increasing its military presence and building new military installations in the Northern Sinai, charges Egypt says are fabricated. The peace treaty’s annex permits additional Egyptian military hardware in the Sinai.

Former Israeli chief of the general staff, Herzi Halevi, warned of what he calls Egypt’s ‘security threat.’ Katz said that Israel would not allow Egypt to ‘violate the peace treaty’ between the two countries signed in 1979.

Egyptian officials note that it is Israel that has violated the treaty by occupying the Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Salahuddin Axis, which runs along the nine mile border between Gaza and Egypt and is supposed to be demilitarised.

‘Every Israeli action along Gaza’s border with Egypt constitutes hostile behaviour against Egypt’s national security,’ Egyptian General Mohammed Rashad, a former military intelligence chief, told the Arabic language newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat.

‘Egypt cannot sit idly by in the face of such threats and must prepare for all possible scenarios.’

Israeli officials are openly calling for the ‘voluntary transfer’ of Palestinians to Egypt. Knesset member, Avigdor Lieberman, stated that ‘displacing most Palestinians from Gaza to the Egyptian Sinai is a practical and effective solution.’ He contrasted the high population density — Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet — with the vast ‘untapped lands’ in the Egyptian Northern Sinai and noted that Palestinians share a common culture and language with Egypt, making any deportation ‘natural.’ He also criticised Egypt because it allegedly ‘benefits economically from the current political situation,’ as a mediator between Israel and Hamas and ‘reaps profits from smuggling operations through the tunnels and the Rafah crossing.’

The Israeli think tank Misgav Institute for National Security, staffed by former Israeli military and security officials, published a paper on October 17, 2023, calling on the government to take advantage of the ‘unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the entire Gaza Strip,’ and resettle Palestinians in Cairo with the assistance of the Egyptian government. A leaked document from the Israeli intelligence ministry proposed resettling Palestinians from Gaza to the Northern Sinai and constructing barriers and buffer zones to prevent their return.

Any expulsion would likely happen swiftly with Israeli forces, which are already mercilessly herding Palestinians into containment areas in Gaza, carrying out a sustained bombing campaign against the trapped Palestinians while creating porous evacuation portals along the border with Egypt. It would entail a potentially lethal standoff with the Egyptian military, instantly throwing the Egyptian regime of Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who has described any ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in Gaza as a ‘red line,’ into crisis. It would be a short step from there to a regional conflict.

Israel has seized territory in Syria and southern Lebanon, part of its vision of ‘Greater Israel,’ which includes occupying land in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It covets the maritime gas fields off Gaza’s coast and has floated plans for a new canal to bypass the Suez Canal, to connect Israel’s bankrupt Eilat Port on the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. These projects require emptying Gaza of Palestinians and populating it with Jewish colonists.

The anger on the Arab street — an anger I witnessed over the past few months during visits to Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Qatar — will explode in a justifiable fury if mass deportation takes place. These regimes, simply to hold on to power, will be forced to act. Terrorist attacks, whether by organised groups or lone wolves, will proliferate against Israeli and western targets, especially the United States.

The genocide is a recruitment dream for Islamic militants. Washington and Israel must, on some level, understand the cost of this savagery. But it appears as though they accept it, foolishly trying to obliterate those they have cast out of the community of nations, those they refer to as ‘human animals.’

What do Israel and Washington believe will happen when the Palestinians are expelled from a land they have lived in for centuries? How do they think a people who are desperate, deprived of hope, dignity and a way to make a living, who are being butchered by one of the most technologically advanced armies on the planet, will respond? Do they think creating a Danteesque hell for the Palestinians will blunt terrorism, curb suicide attacks and foster peace? Can they not grasp the rage rippling through the Middle East and how it will implant a hatred towards us that will endure for decades?

The genocide in Gaza is the greatest crime of this century. It will come back to haunt Israel. It will come back to haunt us. It will usher to our doorsteps the evil we have perpetrated on the Palestinians.

You reap what you sow. We have sown a minefield of hatred and violence.

ScheerPost.com, April 13. Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times, where he served as the Middle East Bureau Chief and Balkan Bureau Chief for the paper. He is the host of show The Chris Hedges Report.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas says will free hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed

A senior Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a ‘serious prisoner swap’ and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza...

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Hamas says will free hostages if end to Gaza war guaranteed
Agence France-Presse . Cairo, Egypt 14 April, 2025, 19:29

Libyans carry a poster showing slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (R) during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinian people, on April 8, 2025 in Tripoli. | AFP photo.

A senior Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian group is prepared to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a ‘serious prisoner swap’ and guarantees that Israel will end the war in Gaza.

Hamas left Cairo on Monday after negotiations with mediators from Egypt and Qatar — two nations working alongside the United States to broker a ceasefire in the besieged territory.

‘We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,’ Taher al-Nunu, a senior Hamas official, told AFP.

However, he accused Israel of obstructing progress towards a ceasefire.

‘The issue is not the number of captives,’ Nunu said, ‘but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war’.

‘Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation (Israel) to uphold the agreement,’ he added.

Israeli news website Ynet reported on Monday that a new proposal had been put to Hamas.

Under the deal, the group would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.

The first phase of the ceasefire, which began on January 19 and included multiple hostage-prisoner exchanges, lasted two months before disintegrating.

Efforts towards a new truce have stalled, reportedly over disputes regarding the number of hostages to be released by Hamas, with 58 people still held in the Palestinian territory.

Pointing to those failed negotiations, Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it was against talks aimed at phased hostage releases.

‘The phases method wastes valuable time and jeopardises all of the hostages’, the group representing relatives of hostages said.

‘We demand to choose the necessary, feasible and appropriate solution: ending the war and returning all the hostages together, in one immediate phase.’

Meanwhile, Nunu said that Hamas would not disarm, a key condition that Israel has set for ending the war.

‘The weapons of the resistance are not up for negotiation,’ Nunu said.

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,983.​

 

[Saif]

Israel makes new Gaza truce proposal

Mediators Egypt and Qatar have presented a new Israeli proposal for a Gaza ceasefire to Hamas, Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said.

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Israel makes new Gaza truce proposal
Hamas likely to respond within 48 hrs; Maldives ban Israelis to protest offensive

Mediators Egypt and Qatar have presented a new Israeli proposal for a Gaza ceasefire to Hamas, Egyptian state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said.

A senior Hamas official told AFP yesterday that the Palestinian movement will "most likely" respond to the ceasefire proposal it received through mediators within 48 hours.

The group reiterated its core demand that a ceasefire deal must end the offensive in Gaza and achieve a full Israeli pull-out from the strip.

Earlier, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the proposal did not meet the Palestinian group's demand that Israel commit to a complete halt of hostilities.

In the proposal, Israel also for the first time called for the disarmament of Hamas in the next phase of negotiations, which the group will not agree to, Abu Zuhri said.

UN chief 'deeply alarmed' by Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

"Handing over the resistance's weapons is a million red lines and is not subject to consideration, let alone discussion", Abu Zuhri said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "deeply alarmed" at Sunday's strike by Israeli forces on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, his spokesperson said yesterday.

"Under international humanitarian law, wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected," the UN chief's spokesperson said.

In a separate development, The Maldives announced yesterday it was banning the entry of Israelis from the luxury tourist archipelago in "resolute solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation shortly after it was approved by parliament yesterday.

The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzu's office told AFP.​

 

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/asia/israel-will-keep-gaza-buffer-zone-minister-says-as-ceasefire-efforts-stall

Israel will keep Gaza buffer zone, minister says, as ceasefire efforts stall
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 16, 2025 19:48
Updated :
Apr 16, 2025 19:48

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 14, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli troops will remain in the buffer zones they have created in Gaza even after any settlement to end the war, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday, as efforts to revive a ceasefire agreement faltered.

Since resuming their operation last month, Israeli forces have carved out a broad "security zone" extending deep into Gaza and squeezing more than 2 million Palestinians into ever smaller areas in the south and along the coastline.

"Unlike in the past, the IDF is not evacuating areas that have been cleared and seized," Katz said in a statement following a meeting with military commanders, adding that "tens of percent" of Gaza had been added to the zone.

"The IDF will remain in the security zones as a buffer between the enemy and the communities in any temporary or permanent situation in Gaza - as in Lebanon and Syria."

In southern Gaza alone, Israeli forces have seized about 20% of the enclave's territory, taking control of the border city of Rafah and pushing inland up to the so-called "Morag corridor" that runs from the eastern edge of Gaza to the Mediterranean Sea between Rafah and the city of Khan Younis.

It already held a wide corridor across the central Netzarim area and has extended a buffer zone all around the border hundreds of metres inland, including the Shejaia area just to the east of Gaza City in the north.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Hamas fighters, including many senior commanders of the Palestinian militant group, but the operation has alarmed the United Nations and European countries.

More than 400,000 Palestinians have been displaced since hostilities resumed on March 18 after two months of relative calm, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Israeli air strikes and bombardments have killed at least 1,630 people.

Medical charity MSF said Gaza had become a "mass grave" with humanitarian groups struggling to provide aid. "We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza," Amande Bazerolle, MSF's emergency coordinator in Gaza said in a statement.

Katz said Israel, which has blocked the delivery of aid supplies into the territory, was creating infrastructure to allow distribution through civilian companies at a later date. But he said the blockade on aid would remain in place.

He said Israel would push forward with a plan to allow Gazans who wished to leave the enclave to do so, although it remains unclear which countries would be willing to accept large numbers of Palestinians.

RED LINES

The comments from Katz, repeating Israel's demand on Hamas to disarm, underscore how far away the two sides remain from any ceasefire agreement, despite efforts by Egyptian mediators to revive efforts to reach a deal.

Hamas has repeatedly described calls to disarm as a red line it will not cross and has said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza under any permanent ceasefire.

"Any truce lacking real guarantees for halting the war, achieving full withdrawal, lifting the blockade, and beginning reconstruction will be a political trap," Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.

Two Israeli officials said this week that there had been no progress in the talks despite media reports of a possible truce to allow the exchange of some of the 59 hostages still held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli officials have said the increased military pressure will force Hamas to release the hostages but the government has faced large demonstrations by Israeli protesters demanding a deal to stop the fighting and get them back.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the October 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive has killed at least 51,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated the coastal enclave, forcing most of the population to move multiple times and reducing broad areas to rubble.

On Wednesday, Palestinian medical authorities said an airstrike killed 10 people, including Fatema Hassouna, a well-known writer and photographer who had documented the war. A strike on another house further north killed three, they said.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Israel's suspension of the entry of fuel, medical, and food supplies since early March had begun to obstruct the work of the few remaining working hospitals, with medical supplies drying up.

"Hundreds of patients and wounded individuals are deprived of essential medications, and their suffering is worsening due to the closure of border crossings," the ministry said.​

 

[Saif]

The boycott Bangladesh has yet to learn

IN RECENT months, as Israel’s assault on Gaza has continued to draw global condemnation, public solidarity in Bangladesh has grown louder. Rallies in Dhaka and other cities have drawn thousands, with demonstrators demanding justice for Palestinians. Social media platforms have been flooded with...

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The boycott Bangladesh has yet to learn
Sohana Samrin Chowdhury 16 April, 2025, 00:00

Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Dhaka to attend March for Gaza grand rally on April 12. | Sony Ramani

IN RECENT months, as Israel’s assault on Gaza has continued to draw global condemnation, public solidarity in Bangladesh has grown louder. Rallies in Dhaka and other cities have drawn thousands, with demonstrators demanding justice for Palestinians. Social media platforms have been flooded with expressions of outrage. Among the loudest chants at these protests is a call to ‘Boycott Israel.’ But the slogan, while powerful, raises a critical question: what does it actually mean?

For many Bangladeshis, boycott is a compelling idea, but one not yet fully understood. Does it mean cutting ties with all American products? Avoiding fast-food chains altogether? Is every western brand equally culpable in Israeli state violence? Such confusion is not surprising. What it points to, however, is a deeper problem — a lack of awareness of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and its strategic goals.

BDS was launched in 2005 by more than 170 Palestinian civil society organisations as a form of non-violent resistance against Israeli apartheid. Far from being a knee-jerk response to atrocities, the campaign is structured, inspired by the international boycott that played a key role in dismantling apartheid in South Africa. The movement centres around three demands: an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes.

What makes BDS effective is its clarity. It does not call for a general rejection of all things Western, nor does it trade in hate speech. Instead, it urges consumers and institutions to target companies directly complicit in Israeli crimes under international law. This specificity is critical. Take HP, which supplies surveillance systems used at Israeli checkpoints. Or Puma, which sponsors the Israeli Football Association, including teams based in illegal settlements. Or McDonald’s, which faced backlash after providing free meals to Israeli soldiers. These are not targeted for being western; they are targeted for their direct involvement.

There is evidence that this strategy works. In Malaysia and Indonesia, public engagement with BDS has led to notable consumer shifts. McDonald’s saw its first quarterly sales decline since 2020, in part due to boycotts across Muslim-majority countries. Starbucks’ Malaysian franchisee reported a 38.2 per cent revenue drop in the last quarter of 2023. KFC’s local operator temporarily shut down over 100 outlets in April 2024, citing economic strain linked to the boycotts.

The impact of such consumer actions is not limited to Southeast Asia. In Europe, boycotts have prompted tangible outcomes: Puma products were removed from stores in Derry, Northern Ireland. In countries like Ireland, Spain and Norway, local councils and trade unions have formally divested from companies tied to the Israeli occupation. These instances demonstrate how focused, strategic pressure can produce economic and political consequences.

Even in Bangladesh, boycott actions have shown results. When Coca-Cola aired a defensive advert in 2023 to deny any ties to Israel, it was met with public backlash. Rather than reassuring consumers, the move was widely seen as an attempt to whitewash complicity. Sales reportedly dropped by 23 per cent. The advert was withdrawn. Meanwhile, local soft drink brands such as Mojo capitalised on the moment — voicing support for Palestine and donating to relief efforts. It was not a textbook BDS campaign, but it was effective. It exposed the vulnerability of multinational corporations to well-organised consumer resistance.

This should be instructive. Boycotts are not about emotional outbursts — they are about consistent, informed and targeted pressure. The South African example remains instructive. The global anti-apartheid movement did not begin in the 1980s. It took shape decades earlier through student boycotts, university divestments, and a sustained cultural embargo. By the 1970s, UK-based trade unions and churches had divested from South African banks. In the 1980s, US universities followed suit, pressured by student-led protests to divest billions from firms operating in South Africa. International musicians refused to perform there. Airlines, sports bodies and ultimately the UN imposed bans. It took time, but it worked. The regime was financially and culturally isolated until it fell in 1994.

This is the legacy that BDS draws upon — not scattered outrage or symbolic gestures, but a coherent strategy built on moral clarity and collective discipline. The same potential exists in Bangladesh, but it demands a shift in approach.

So what should be done next?

The first step is education. A campaign cannot succeed without informed participants. Many still do not know which companies are on the BDS list and why. Resources such as bdsmovement.net, alongside local language initiatives, can close this knowledge gap. Educational tools — from infographics and public talks to mosque sermons and student events — can channel online outrage into real-world impact.

The second step lies with civil society. Universities, trade bodies and private firms in Bangladesh can lead by example. They can refuse partnerships with companies complicit in apartheid and urge local suppliers to drop problematic brands. These institutions have moral influence — they must begin to use it.

Third, the media and policymakers must play their part. If Bangladesh is to position itself as a country with a moral voice on the world stage, its domestic economic decisions must reflect that. Support for Palestine cannot be limited to slogans; it must be reflected in trade and investment priorities.

This requires confronting a set of unhelpful distractions. Every time a boycott is discussed, someone inevitably asks, ‘Why not boycott your phone too?’ Or, ‘Why are you still on Facebook?’ These are not serious questions. They are bad-faith attempts to derail the conversation. Facebook is not on the BDS list — not because it is blameless, but because the movement targets companies directly profiting from the occupation. Understanding this distinction is crucial.

Yet even as awareness grows, contradictions persist. During the recent Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, news broke that Zara would soon open its first store in the country. This was surprising, considering that Zara faced a global backlash in 2023 over an advertising campaign seen to echo scenes from the Gaza genocide — including mannequins wrapped in cloth and rubble-like backdrops. The campaign was condemned widely. Yet in Bangladesh, there was no media coverage, no political comment, no consumer outcry. While Coca-Cola was boycotted, Zara’s arrival was welcomed — a stark reminder of how selective our outrage can be.

This inconsistency is dangerous. Boycotts are not simply about avoiding certain purchases. They are expressions of shared values. If we only act when a brand makes headlines online, but remain silent as it opens shop in our malls, we risk reducing solidarity to performance. There was no public debate about Zara’s expansion. There should have been.

We must move beyond performative outrage. Bangladesh has already shown its people are willing to act. But action without clarity cannot build momentum. When brands are held to account, when local alternatives are supported, when informed choices are made — the results speak for themselves. But these outcomes require persistence, not fleeting interest.

To support Palestine meaningfully, we must first hold ourselves to account — as consumers, professionals, and citizens. Boycotts are not a purity test. They are tools. They allow us to ask: Who benefits from our spending? Who is welcomed into our economy? And whose suffering do we ignore in the name of convenience?

As Palestinians fight for the right to live with dignity and freedom, we owe it to them to ensure our economic choices do not fund their oppression. The BDS movement offers a way to act — if we are willing to follow through.

Sohana Samrin Chowdhury has worked with the International Labour Organization, UNDP and WFP, focusing on skills development, labour migration, and workplace safety policy.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli air strikes kill 11 in Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes in the early hours of Wednesday killed at least 11 people, including women and children...

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Israeli air strikes kill 11 in Gaza
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 17 April, 2025, 00:09

Palestinians inspect the damage inside a building hit by overnight Israeli strikes on Jabalia’s southwestern district of Nazla in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. | AFP photo

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes in the early hours of Wednesday killed at least 11 people, including women and children.

Israel resumed its aerial and ground offensive across Gaza from March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted hostilities in the territory.

A pre-dawn air strike in Gaza City killed 10 people, including several women and children, according to civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

He said the strike targeted the home belonging to the Hassouna family in the Al-Tuffa neighbourhood of Gaza City.

‘Our teams transferred 10 martyrs and several wounded to Al-Shifa hospital after the Hassouna family’s home was targeted,’ Bassal said.

In a separate attack, a child was killed in the southern city of Khan Yunis, rescue teams said.

Top Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly stated that military pressure is the only way to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas.

On Wednesday, defence minister Israel Katz reiterated that Israel would continue to ‘relentlessly strike Hamas terrorists and terror infrastructure’ in Gaza.

‘If Hamas continues to refuse to release hostages, operations will intensify and move to the next stage,’ Katz said in a statement, without specifying what the next stage would entail.

Also on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had recently killed a militant involved in a 2014 attack that resulted in the deaths of five soldiers.

Mahmud Ibrahim Abu Hisirah was reportedly part of group of militants that infiltrated Israel through a tunnel in July 2014 and killed five soldiers, the military said.

In recent years, he had served as a close aide to Ezzedine Haddad, a senior militant from Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military added.

Since Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza in mid-March, at least 1,630 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s military assault since then has killed at least 51,000 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry.​

 

[Saif]

Gaza has become mass grave: MSF

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday said Israel’s military operations and blockage of humanitarian aid had turned Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those helping them...

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Gaza has become mass grave: MSF
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 16 April, 2025, 21:30

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday said Israel’s military operations and blockage of humanitarian aid had turned Gaza into a graveyard for Palestinians and those helping them.

Israel, fighting in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, resumed operations in the Palestinian territory in March after the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire amid differences over the next phase.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, with Israel blocking humanitarian aid since March 2, before the truce disintegrated.

Medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply, the UN says.

‘Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians and those coming to their assistance,’ said MSF coordinator Amande Bazerolle.

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

‘We are witnessing in real time the destruction and forced displacement of the entire population in Gaza,’ Bazerolle added.

‘With nowhere safe for Palestinians or those trying to help them, the humanitarian response is severely struggling under the weight of insecurity and critical supply shortages, leaving people with few, if any, options for accessing care,’ she said.​

 

[Saif]

Hamas official says still preparing response to Israel's Gaza proposal

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Wednesday that the group is still preparing its response to an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

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Hamas official says still preparing response to Israel's Gaza proposal

Photo: AFP

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Wednesday that the group is still preparing its response to an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

"The movement's response is still in preparation, and we affirm that there is no room for any partial deal," Mahmoud Mardawi said, insisting that the group's "weapons will not be subject to any negotiations".​

 

[Saif]

Israeli air strikes kill 40 in Gaza

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

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Israeli air strikes kill 40 in Gaza
Gaza City . Palestinian Territories 17 April, 2025, 23:59

Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday. | AFP photo

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday that a rash of Israeli air strikes killed at least 40 people, most of them in encampments for displaced civilians, as Israel pressed its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strikes, which came as Hamas officials reported that internal deliberations on the latest Israeli truce offer were nearly complete.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said two Israeli missiles hit several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, resulting in at least 16 deaths, ‘most of them women and children, and 23 others were wounded’.

After Israel declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone in December 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked there seeking refuge from bombardment, but the area has since been hit by repeated Israeli strikes.

Survivors described a large explosion at the densely packed encampment that set multiple tents ablaze.

‘We were sitting peacefully in the tent, under God’s protection, when we suddenly saw something red glowing — and then the tent exploded, and the surrounding tents caught fire,’ Israa Abu al-Rus said.

‘This is supposed to be a safe area in Al-Mawasi,’ Abu al-Rus said. ‘We fled the tent towards the sea and saw the tents burning.’

Bassal said that Israeli strikes on two other encampments of displaced Gazans killed a further nine people — seven in the northern town of Beit Lahia, and a father and son near Al-Mawasi.

Separately, the civil defence reported two more attacks on displaced people in Jabalia — one that killed at least seven members of the Asaliya family, and another that killed six people at a school being used as a shelter — as well as Israeli shelling in Gaza City that killed two.

The military later announced it had carried out a strike in Jabalia on what it said was a Hamas ‘command and control’ centre.

Israel said Wednesday that it had converted 30 per cent of Gaza into a buffer zone in the widening offensive it resumed in March, ending a two-month ceasefire.

Defence minister Israel Katz said this month that the military was leaving Gaza ‘smaller and more isolated’.

The United Nations said half a million Palestinians have been displaced since the offensive resumed, triggering what it has described as the most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The Israeli military said its air strikes had hit ‘approximately 1,200 terror targets’ since March 18.

The leader of Qatar, which along with Egypt and the US helped mediate the January ceasefire deal, blamed Israel on Thursday for its collapse.

‘As you know, we reached an agreement months ago, but unfortunately Israel did not abide by this agreement,’ said Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani during a visit to Moscow.

Qatar would continue to ‘strive to bridge perspectives in order to reach an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people’, he added.

Acknowledging Qatar’s efforts, Russian president Vladimir Putin called the war in Gaza ‘a tragedy’, saying a long-term resolution was ‘connected to the establishment of two states’, Palestinian and Israeli.

Hamas accused Israel on Thursday of attempting to starve Gaza’s 2.4 million people after Katz said the day before that Israel would continue preventing aid from entering the territory.

‘This is a public admission of committing a war crime, including the use of starvation as a weapon and the denial of basic necessities such as food, medicine, water, and fuel to innocent civilians for the seventh consecutive week,’ the group said in a statement.

During an impasse over the future of the ceasefire, Israel halted the entry of aid on March 2, exacerbating the territory’s on-going humanitarian crisis.

In parallel to the Gaza offensive, Hamas said Israel had proposed a new 45-day ceasefire through mediators that would include the release of dozens of hostages.

The proposal also called for Hamas to disarm to secure a complete end to the war, a demand the group rejects.

Two Hamas officials said Thursday that internal discussions on the truce proposal were nearly complete, with one telling AFP ‘the group will send its response to the mediators once they finish’ — possibly on Thursday.

Israel’s renewed assault has so far killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory reported, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli strikes hit dozens of targets in Gaza as ceasefire efforts stall

Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war. Last month the Israeli military broke off a two-month truce that

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Israeli strikes hit dozens of targets in Gaza as ceasefire efforts stall
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 18, 2025 22:04
Updated :
Apr 18, 2025 22:04

A Palestinian man inspects the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in the northern Gaza Strip, April 18, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israeli airstrikes hit about 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war.

Last month the Israeli military broke off a two-month truce that had largely halted fighting in Gaza and has since pushed in from the north and south, seizing almost a third of the enclave as it seeks to pressure Hamas into agreeing to release hostages and disarm.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would make a special statement on Saturday evening but gave no detail on what it would be about.

Palestinian health authorities said that at least 43 people were killed in strikes on Friday, adding to more than 1,600 deaths since Israel resumed airstrikes in March.

The military said troops were operating in the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan areas near the southern city of Rafah, as well as in northern Gaza, where it has taken control of large areas east of Gaza City.

Egyptian mediators have been trying to revive the January ceasefire deal that broke down when Israel resumed airstrikes and sent ground troops back into Gaza, but there has been little sign the two sides have moved closer on fundamental issues.

Late on Thursday Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas' Gaza chief, said the movement was willing to swap all remaining 59 hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel in return for an end to the war and reconstruction of Gaza.

But he dismissed an Israeli offer, which includes a demand that Hamas lay down its arms, as imposing "impossible conditions".

Israel has not responded formally to Al-Hayya's comments, but ministers have said repeatedly that Hamas must be disarmed completely and can play no role in the future governance of Gaza.

On Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz repeated that Israel intended to achieve its war aims.

"The IDF is currently working towards a decisive victory in all arenas, the release of the hostages, and the defeat of Hamas in Gaza," he said in a statement.

The ceasefire offer it made through Egyptian mediators includes talks on a final settlement to the war but no firm agreement.

Katz also said this week that troops would remain in the buffer zone around the border that now extends deep into Gaza and cuts the enclave in two, even after any settlement.​

 

[Saif]

Israeli strikes kill 24

Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency said on Friday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people, including 10 from the same family, after Hamas signalled its rejection of Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal.

www.newagebd.net

Israeli strikes kill 24
Hamas rejects truce proposal
Agence France-Presse . Gaza City 19 April, 2025, 00:32

An elderly woman sits inside a damaged building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. | AFP photo

Gaza’s civil defence rescue agency said on Friday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people, including 10 from the same family, after Hamas signalled its rejection of Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal.

The Palestinian militants’ chief negotiator dismissed what he called Israel’s ‘partial agreements’ and called for a ‘comprehensive deal’ to halt the 18-month-long war.

Khalil al-Hayya also urged international pressure to end Israel’s complete blockade of Gaza that began on March 2.

The appeal comes after the United Nations warned of worsening conditions and shortages of medicine and other essentials for the Palestinian territory’s 2.4 million besieged people.

Gaza’s civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said early Friday that crews had ‘recovered the bodies of 10 martyrs and a large number of wounded from the house of the Baraka family and the neighbouring houses’ following Israeli strikes east of Khan Yunis in Gaza’s south.

Civil defence reported at least 14 others killed in multiple Israeli strikes across the territory, including at least two strikes which hit tents sheltering displaced people.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge in such shelters while trying to escape from the war, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli military has intensified its aerial bombardments and expanded ground operations in the Gaza Strip since resuming its offensive on March 18.

A previous ceasefire and hostage release deal began on January 19 but collapsed two months later. Israel wanted to extend the first phase, while Hamas insisted that negotiations be held for a second phase as outlined by former US president Joe Biden last year.

A source from Hamas said that the militants sent a written response Thursday to mediators on Israel’s proposal for a 45-day ceasefire. Israel had wanted the release of 10 living hostages held by the group, according to Hamas.

It also called for the freeing of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

A Hamas official said the proposal further sought Hamas’s disarmament to secure a complete end to the war, a demand the group rejects.

‘Partial agreements are used by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a cover for his political agenda we will not be complicit in this policy,’ Hayya said in a televised statement late Thursday.

He said Hamas ‘seeks a comprehensive deal involving a single-package prisoner exchange in return for halting the war, a withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, and the commencement of reconstruction’ in the territory.

At least 1,691 people have been killed in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,065, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hamas’s attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Hayya also called on the international community to ‘intervene immediately and exert the necessary pressure to end the unjust blockade imposed on our people in the Gaza Strip’.

The United Nations warned on Monday that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began.

In a statement, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said no supplies had reached Gaza for a month and a half.

Gazan fisherman Abdel Halim Qanan said his family had resorted to eating turtle meat.

‘There is no food. So it is an alternative for other sources of protein,’ he said.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said the country would keep blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza as a means of pressuring Hamas.

The blockade comes as Israel transforms large swathes of Gaza into buffer zones, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

An AFP calculation based on maps issued by the military found that the total area under Israeli control was more than 185 square kilometres, or around 50 per cent of the territory.​

 

[Saif]

Palestine’s plight: A global failure of justice and humanity

The world must act to stop the cycle of violence.

www.thedailystar.net

Palestine’s plight: A global failure of justice and humanity

The international community can no longer ignore the atrocities occurring in Palestine. FILE PHOTO: AFP

The atrocities endured by Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces have reached alarming proportions, culminating in a global humanitarian crisis that demands urgent international attention. The central questions are: how can the world put an end to these atrocities, and why do Israel's actions persist with the backing of the US and many Western countries? Why does the UN, tasked with upholding human rights, remain so ineffective in safeguarding innocent lives?

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols (1977) form the cornerstone of international humanitarian law, specifically designed to protect civilians during armed conflict, including those in occupied territories. In light of these conventions, the actions of the Israeli government could be classified as "state terrorism."

It is shameful that the UN, despite its mandate to protect human rights, has failed to act decisively. Even more troubling is the hypocrisy of Western countries that proclaim democratic values and human rights, yet continue to support Israel despite its repeated violations of international law. For over half a century, Muslim-majority countries have offered little more than rhetorical condemnation—remaining divided and failing to take substantive action against Israel's crimes against humanity.

The role of the US and Western countries

The support of the US and other Western nations is key to understanding why Israel has not been held accountable. Despite recurring human rights violations, Israel has been shielded from international scrutiny and sanctions, particularly within the UN. The US, a long-standing ally of Israel, frequently exercises its veto power to block resolutions that could impose pressure or sanctions. This protection has enabled Israel to operate with impunity, while the suffering of the Palestinian people continues to be neglected.

Western media coverage is often skewed, failing to adequately highlight the plight of Palestinians or to critically examine Israel's actions—thereby perpetuating a one-sided narrative.

The need for reform in the UNSC

The UN Security Council (UNSC), designed to maintain global peace and security, has failed to effectively address the Palestinian issue. Its paralysis, primarily due to the veto power held by its five permanent members, including the US, renders it unable to take meaningful action. For Palestinians, this means justice is continually deferred, and their suffering prolonged.

The ongoing crisis in Palestine exposes the UNSC's failure to protect human life. If the council is to remain relevant, it must undergo significant reform. The current veto system should either be restructured or abolished, and economic sanctions should be imposed on violators of international law through majority votes among UN member states.

Another reform proposal involves selecting UNSC members based on their contributions to global peace, rather than their nuclear capabilities. A more inclusive and representative structure could foster a fairer and more just approach to international issues. Some advocate for proportional representation based on population or religious affiliation, arguing that this could help prevent conflicts driven by religious divides.

Would the world remain silent if Palestinians were Christians instead of Muslims? Some may argue not.

Despite Muslims comprising the world's second-largest religious group and the existence of 57 Muslim-majority countries, there is currently no Muslim representation on the UNSC. This glaring omission highlights the urgency for Muslim states to take a more active role in pushing for UNSC reform. With Muslim representation, the plight of Palestinians—and other oppressed Muslim communities—might have received more meaningful international attention.

The political fragmentation of the Arab world

Without reform of the UNSC, what alternatives remain? One potential solution is the strengthening of regional coalitions, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to apply greater diplomatic pressure on Israel and its allies. While the OIC's track record on Palestine has been limited, it represents a significant bloc that could unite to demand international sanctions against Israel.

On April 12, 2025, millions in Bangladesh took part in the March for Gaza, where one of the key demands was for OIC member states to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and impose trade embargoes on it and its supporters. Despite wielding considerable economic leverage through oil, many Muslim-majority countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have not used these resources strategically.

An oil embargo could severely disrupt the economies of countries that support Israel, potentially impeding weapons manufacturing and imposing other costs. While such a measure might be seen as a last resort, the question remains: do Muslim leaders possess the courage, strategic vision, and unity needed to impose such sanctions and to gain support from influential nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America?

Long-standing rivalries within the Muslim world, such as the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, have hindered unified action. Overcoming these divisions is crucial if a coordinated response to Israel's actions is to be achieved.

As the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "The entire Muslim community is like one body. If one part of it feels pain, the whole body feels the pain." If the Ummah truly believes in this, it must take decisive action to end the violence and support Palestinian independence.

Western hypocrisy and the 'self-defence' narrative

For too long, Western nations have prioritised geopolitical interests over human lives in the Israel-Palestine conflict. They are quick to condemn human rights abuses elsewhere, yet remain silent or supportive when it comes to Israel. The widely accepted narrative of "self-defence" masks the reality: this is not defence, but occupation, displacement, and the forced refugee status of Palestinians within their own land.

The power of public opinion

The international community can no longer ignore the atrocities occurring in Palestine. Global public opinion, especially through grassroots movements, has the power to influence policy. Protests, social media campaigns, and petitions can place pressure on governments to reconsider their support for Israel. In extreme cases, citizens may feel compelled to hold their own governments accountable if they continue to endorse actions viewed as crimes against humanity.

While humanitarian aid is crucial, it must not be seen as a substitute for political advocacy. It should instead work alongside efforts to pursue justice for Palestinian victims of aggression.

A global moral responsibility

The struggle for Palestinian rights is not merely a regional issue, it is a global moral imperative. The time to act is now, before yet another generation is lost to conflict and suffering. Continued inaction represents a failure of leadership, of humanity, and of justice.

Nations, particularly those with global influence, must demand accountability, support Palestinian self-determination, and work towards a just and lasting peace. There can be no lasting peace in the Middle East without an independent, sovereign Palestine. The world must act to stop this cycle of violence.

Dr M Jashim Uddin is director at the Center for Peace Studies (CPS) at North South University.​

 

[Saif]

Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food

With food scarce in the besieged and war-battered Gaza Strip, some desperate families have turned to eating sea turtles as a rare source of protein...

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Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food
Agence France-Presse . Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories 20 April, 2025, 00:10

With food scarce in the besieged and war-battered Gaza Strip, some desperate families have turned to eating sea turtles as a rare source of protein.

Once the shell has been removed, the meat is cut up, boiled and cooked in a mix of onion, pepper, tomato and spices.

‘The children were afraid of the turtle, and we told them it tasted as delicious as veal,’ said Majida Qanan, keeping an eye on the chunks of red meat simmering in a pot over a wood fire. ‘Some of them ate it, but others refused.’

For lack of a better alternative, this is the third time 61-year-old Qanan has prepared a turtle-based meal for her family who were displaced and now live in a tent in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza largest city.

After 18 months of devastating war and an Israeli blockade on aid since March 2, the United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory.

Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid, which the Palestinian militant group denies.

The heads of 12 major aid organisations warned on Thursday that ‘famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts’ of the territory.

‘There are no open crossings and there is nothing in the market,’ said Qanan. ‘When I buy two small bags [of vegetables] for 80 shekels, there is no meat.’

Sea turtles are internationally protected as an endangered species, but those caught in Gaza fishermen’s nets are used for food.

Qanan mixes the meat with flour and vinegar to wash it, before rinsing and boiling it in an old metal pot.

‘We never expected to eat a turtle,’ fisherman Abdel Halim Qanan said.

‘When the war started, there was a food shortage. There is no food. So [turtle meat] is an alternative for other sources of protein. There is no meat, poultry or vegetables.’

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began on October 7, 2023, triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Fighting has raged in Gaza since then, pausing only twice—recently during a two-month ceasefire between January 19 and March 17, and in a previous one-week halt in late November 2023.

The World Health Organization’s regional chief Hanan Balkhy said in June that some Gazans were so desperate that they were eating animal food, grass, and drinking sewage water.

Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of using ‘starvation as a weapon’ against Gazans by blocking aid supplies.

Fisherman Qanan said the turtles were killed in the ‘halal’ method, in accordance with Islamic rites.

‘If there was no famine, we would not eat it and leave it, but we want to compensate for the lack of protein,’ he said.​