Dhaka: Students, leaders, activists from various political parties, and common citizens staged demonstrations across Bangladesh, condemning the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and demanding an immediate cessation of Israeli actions.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, thousands of Bangladeshis participated in protests across the country, calling for a boycott of Israeli products. Protesters formed human chains, held processions, and organized rallies to demand an immediate stop to the ongoing genocide and mass destruction in Gaza. Various political parties, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and National Citizen Party (NCP), led processions throughout the country.
Students and individuals from different walks of life joined solidarity rallies on campuses of educational institutions, including Dhaka University, to support the Palestinian people against Israel's actions in Gaza. At Dhaka University's Raju monument near TSC, students and the general public gathered, chanting anti-Israel slogans and demanding justice for the genocide in Gaza. Some student leaders initiated a nationwide 'No Work, No School' campaign for the day.
Protesters carried Palestinian flags, festoons, and placards during the solidarity and protest programs. DU student Tamim Ahsan stated, "Today's rally, organized in solidarity with the global strike called by Palestine's freedom-seeking people, was attended by students and people from all walks of life to vent their anger and raise voices against the Israeli aggression in Gaza." He further emphasized the need for the Bangladesh government to participate in the ongoing non-cooperation movement against Israel.
Protesters also burned an effigy of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), students and teachers formed a human chain in front of the Central Shaheed Minar. BUET Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Abdul Hasib Chowdhury expressed support for the 'Global Strike for Gaza', highlighting the continued silence of the Arab world and other powerful countries amidst the ongoing genocide.
In Bashundhara Residential Area, students from several private universities, including North South University (NSU), Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), and United International University (UIU), protested around noon. In Mirpur-10 intersection, thousands demonstrated with placards urging to stop the genocide in Gaza and free Palestine. Employees from various privately run institutions also participated in rallies at different locations, including Science Lab, Bosila, and Uttara areas.
Many students from schools, colleges, and universities, without institutional banners, joined the protests across the capital, carrying Palestinian flags. As part of the movement, several educational institutions, including Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, North South University, and others, suspended academic activities for the day in protest against Israel's actions in Gaza. Bangladesh Medical University also expressed solidarity with the 'Global Strike and Solidarity programme'.
In response to the global strike titled "The world stops for Gaza: no work no school until the genocide stops," Dhaka University students announced a suspension of all academic activities on Monday in solidarity with Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government expressed its strongest condemnation of the "Israeli Occupying Forces' continued mass killing and gross violations of human rights in the Gaza Strip", describing it as ethnic cleansing. The foreign ministry issued a statement on Facebook, criticizing Israel's military actions and the blocking of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which it said led to a human catastrophe.