Bangladesh slams illegal Israeli settlers’ attack on aid convoy carrying food for Gazans

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh on Tuesday condemned the attacks by illegal Israeli settlers in Palestine on a Jordanian humanitarian convoy carrying food for civilians in Gaza.

Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry on Facebook denounced the incident seeking unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza.

It called on the Israeli occupation authorities to put an end to these settlers’ violence and protect humanitarian convoys.

“The government of Bangladesh condemns the recent attacks perpetrated by Israeli extremist settlers in Palestine on a Jordanian humanitarian convoy to Gaza via the Beit Hanoun Crossing meant for civilian aid in Gaza,” the post read.

The ministry underscored the need for the signatory parties to uphold the international humanitarian law which clearly lays out the responsibilities of states and non-state armed groups for rapid and unimpeded passage of all humanitarian aid.

Bangladesh is one of 28 UN member states that does not recognize the state of Israel.

A video circulating on social media on Monday showed illegal Israeli settlers blocking the vehicles and throwing food aid boxes at Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The food-carrying trucks were later set on fire.

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 78,700 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.