Bangladesh reintroduces 'except Israel' phrase on passports
The phrase "valid for all countries except Israel," which was printed on Bangladeshi passports for decades, was removed during the later years of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's tenure.
Nilima Afroze, a deputy secretary at the home ministry, told Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency on Sunday that authorities had "issued a directive last week" to restore the inscription.
The country's support for an independent Palestinian state was visible on Saturday when around 100,000 people gathered in Dhaka in solidarity with Gaza.
People participate in a demonstration titled "March for Gaza" during a rally in Dhaka on 12 April, 2025, expressing solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. (AFP)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
12 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Eight people killed by Israeli soldiers while seeking aid
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that eight people were killed near aid distribution sites in central and southern Gaza on Tuesday, the latest in a series of daily deadly attacks on those seeking food since the specially created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) took over food distribution on 27 May. One person was killed and 50 wounded when tanks and drones opened fire as crowds were waiting to collect aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the centre of the Gaza Strip, Bassal said. The civil defence said another six people were killed nearby while trying to reach the same aid centre. Asked for comment, the Israeli military told AFP its forces "fired warning shots to distance suspects who approached the troops", adding it was not aware of any injuries but would review the incident. At least one more person was killed near another aid centre in Rafah, the civil defence said. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers. A group of 169 aid organisations called on Monday for an end to Gaza's "deadly" new US-and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme, which they said forced starving civilians to "trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race" for food. They urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed before Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza on 2 March. Israeli soldiers and army officials told Haaretz newspaper that they had targeted Palestinian civilians who had come seeking aid from GHF.
Middle East Eye
12 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel intensifies its military campaign ahead of Netanyahu's meeting with Trump
Israel's military said on Tuesday that it had expanded its operations in Gaza days ahead of a planned trip to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 7 July, AFP reported. The intensified operations came after days of mounting calls for a ceasefire, and a month after Hamas submitted a ceasefire deal to Israel. Al Jazeera reported on Monday. Hamas had not heard anything back from Israel or the US on their proposed deal during this time. In response to reports of deadly strikes in the north and south of the territory, the Israeli army told AFP it was "operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities". Separately, it said on Tuesday morning that in recent days it had "expanded its operations to additional areas within the Gaza Strip, eliminating dozens of terrorists, and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites both above and below ground". Raafat Halles, 39, from the Shujaiya district of Gaza City, said "air strikes and shelling have intensified over the past week"and tanks have been advancing. "I believe that every time negotiations or a potential ceasefire are mentioned, the army escalates crimes and massacres on the ground," he said. "I don't know why." Amer Daloul, a 44-year-old resident of Gaza City, also reported fiercer fighting between Israeli forces and fighters in recent days, telling AFP that he and his family were forced to flee the tent they were living in at dawn on Tuesday "due to heavy and random gunfire and shelling". In the southern city of Rafah, resident Mohammed Abdel Aal, 41, said "tanks are present" in most parts of town.
Middle East Eye
12 minutes ago
- Middle East Eye
Two Palestinians, including a child, killed in West Bank by Israeli soldiers: Report
Israeli soldiers killed two people in the West Bank on Tuesday, one of them a 15-year-old boy, AFP reported, citing the Palestinian health ministry. "At dawn today, Tuesday, 15-year-old Amjad Nassar Abu Awad was killed by Israeli soldiers in the city of Ramallah," the ministry said in a statement. The Israeli military told AFP that during an overnight operation in the area, "several terrorists hurled rocks towards [Israeli] soldiers", prompting them to fire "warning shots". "The incident is under review," it added. Around 20 people, most of them young boys, gathered at a Ramallah hospital to mourn Abu Awad, an AFP journalist reported. The boys, who were in tears, touched Abu Awad's face in the hospital morgue. The ministry also said 24-year-old Samer Bassam Zagharneh was killed by Israeli soldiers near the town of Dhahiriya, in the suburbs of Hebron, at dawn on Tuesday. The army told AFP that soldiers operating in the area overnight saw a man attempting to cross the frontier between Israel and the West Bank "in the area of al-Ramadin". "The soldiers opened fire according to standard operating procedures, and a hit was identified", the army said. Two Palestinian teenagers, aged 13 and 15, were killed last week in the West Bank towns of Al-Yamoun and Kafr Malik, respectively. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence towards Palestinians has soared since October 2023. Since then, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 947 Palestinians. Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.
