Bangladesh students protest Israeli attacks on Gaza aid flotilla

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Hundreds of students took to the streets Thursday in Bangladesh to protest the Israeli attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, the aid voyage of rights activists toward the Gaza Strip.

They condemned countries opposing the effort.

Student political fronts, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir; and a newly-formed student group that led an uprising in August 2024 that saw the ouster of the prime minister, Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad, organized separate protests in Dhaka.

Office Secretary of Chhatra Shibir Sibgatullah said the most barbaric genocide in history is taking place in Palestine, and “countless women, men, children and the elderly have been killed. All human rights, including their basic rights -- food and medical care, have been taken away.”

Another rights group, Community for Freedom and Justice, formed a human chain in the capital.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) student wing Chhatra Dal’s Dhaka University leader Mallik Wasi Tami said, “We stand here today for humanity. We have seen the cruelty of the Israeli barbaric forces even with Palestinian children.”

The group praised globally acclaimed Bangladeshi photographer and rights activist Shahidul Alam, who is on the voyage as the first Bangladeshi.

Alam said on the US social media platform, Facebook, that “The people of Gaza are relying on us to provide justice. World leaders have failed them long ago.”

Israeli naval forces attacked 21 vessels of the flotilla late Wednesday and detained at least 317 activists, according to the official flotilla tracker. Nineteen other boats were reported under attack, while four were still sailing toward Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the detained passengers were being taken to the Ashdod Port and would be deported to Europe. It described the flotilla as the “Hamas Flotilla” on the US social media platform, X.

The flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid and medical supplies, departed in late August in an attempt to break Israel’s 18-year blockade of Gaza. It marked the first time in years that dozens of ships had approached the enclave that closely.

Israel tightened its siege in March by shutting border crossings and blocking food, medicine and other relief supplies, pushing Gaza into famine despite aid trucks massing at its borders.

The Israeli military has killed more than 66,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of disease.