Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s actions in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 35,272 people, including 13,000 children, and injured 79,205 others

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s actions in Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 35,272 people, including 13,000 children, and injured 79,205 others. In May 2024, during the seventh month of the conflict, Israel launched a ground offensive in Rafah, forcing nearly six hundred thousand people to flee the city. The occupying Israeli forces have shown no mercy, destroying relief goods by attacking aid vehicles.

In protest of this horrific genocide and to demand a ceasefire, the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), Dhoritri Rokhhay Amara (DHORA), and Surma River Waterkeeper organized a solidarity meeting and candlelight vigil on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the Sammilita Natya Parishad Auditorium, Sarada Hall Premises, in Sylhet. The assembly expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and raised the following demands:

1) An immediate end to the aggression and genocide perpetrated by Israel and its allies in Palestine through a permanent ceasefire.

2) Israel and the northern countries of the world must stop the arms and war trade.

3) Real, just, and lasting peace must be established in Palestine.

4) End all occupation, apartheid, and settler colonial influences and projects worldwide.

Abdul Karim Chowdhury Kim, the Surma River Waterkeeper, stated, “We want world peace. There is no justification for supporting genocide against human rights.”