A “March for Gaza” called by the Palestine Solidarity Movement in Bangladesh will be held in the capital today in protest against the Israeli atrocities in Gaza and Rafah.

The march will culminate in a mass rally at Suhrawardy Udyan.

Major political parties and organisations, including the BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, have expressed solidarity with the programme.

According to Sheikh Fazlul Karim Maruf, media coordinator of the Palestine Solidarity Movement, the march will begin at 2pm from five locations—Bangla Motor, Kakrail intersection, Zero Point, Bakshibazar intersection, and Nilkhet intersection—and is expected to reach Suhrawardy Udyan by 3pm.

A delegation from the BNP, led by Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed, will begin its “March for Gaza” from Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and join the grand rally to express solidarity with the people of Palestine, according to the BNP media cell.

In a Facebook post, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman urged people to participate in the march peacefully and in an orderly manner. He also cautioned against any attempts to question the legitimacy of the programme.

Initially, the Palestine Solidarity Movement had announced the rally would be held at Manik Mia Avenue. However, the venue was later shifted to Suhrawardy Udyan in consideration of the movement of foreign guests attending the investment summit in Dhaka.

Muslims stage protest outside Baitul Mukarram over Gaza genocide

Thousands of people on Friday raised their voices at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka after Jumu'ah prayer, demanding an end to the ongoing war on Gaza and independence for Palestine.

The agitated people also staged a massive rally, organised by Islami Jubo Andolan Bangladesh, to press home their demand for an end to the Gaza people’s ongoing nightmare.

People from various religion-based political parties and organisations also took part in the rally by holding processions in groups from different parts of the capital, Dhaka.

During the rally, they expressed their full solidarity with the Gaza people and urged the international pressure groups to mount pressure on Israel to stop the ongoing genocide.

While addressing the rally, leaders of the religious-based organisations equivocally blamed Israel for violating the human rights of the people of Gaza by conducting genocide.

Claiming that the war going on in Gaza is a sheer violation of the International War Policy, the religious leaders said Israel has so far killed at least 60,000 people, including children and women in Gaza.

However, no international organisations such as the United Nations or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have yet taken any effective move to halt the war.          

Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023 and killed 50,800 Palestinians as of last Wednesday, Al Jazeera reports, quoting Palestinian authorities.