All of Bangladesh with me in this protest: Shahidul Alam
Internationally renowned photographer and activist Shahidul Alam today said world leaders who are complicit in Israeli genocide against Palestine are now mediating for the people of Palestine.
"I'm Shahidul Alam, a writer and photographer from Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the eighth-most populous country in the world. And the entire population is here with me because they join in this protest," he said in a video post from Otranto, Italy, which was published by the photography institute, Drik, in Dhaka.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Shahidul has joined the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's (FFC) Media Flotilla, as the first Bangladeshi, in an attempt to break the information-media blackout in Gaza.
"I have made multiple attempts to go to Palestine but I've always been stopped. This is my way to be there and ensure that Israel cannot stop me or us.
"This is undoubtedly a situation of genocide and apartheid… Our constitution says we will be with the oppressed wherever it may be. Yet our previous regime traded with Israel, used Pegasus, and used their technology to surveil us," he said.
"But international action against South Africa was able to dethrone a powerful regime. There is no reason we cannot do it for Israel," he added.
"I'm here along with 180 million Bangladeshis, all of whom unite in saying: Palestine will be free," he said.
Flotilla says Israeli vessels intimidated its boats
The international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza said Israeli vessels approached some of its boats and engaged in "dangerous and intimidatory manoeuvres" on Wednesday as it neared the Palestinian territory, reports Reuters.
The mission's organisers said two Israeli "warships" had approached fast and encircled two of the flotilla's boats, Alma and Sirius. All navigation and communication devices went down in what one organiser on board, Thiago Ávila, described in a press conference as a "cyber attack".
The flotilla appeared to have recovered some communications. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"These hostile actions placed unarmed civilians from over 40 countries in grave danger," the flotilla said in a statement.
The Global Sumud Flotilla consists of more than 40 civilian boats carrying about 500 people, among them parliamentarians, lawyers and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
It is the latest sea-borne attempt to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, much of which has been turned into a wasteland by almost two years of war, to deliver food and medicine.
The boats have reached within 120 nautical miles of Gaza's coast, inside an area that Israel is policing to stop any boats approaching.
The flotilla said it would continue its course towards Gaza and expects to arrive on Thursday morning if not intercepted.
Meanwhile, Italy and Greece on Wednesday jointly called on Israel not to hurt the activists aboard and called on the flotilla to hand over its aid to the Catholic Church for indirect delivery to Gaza -- a plea the flotilla has previously rejected.
Israeli officials have repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt.
Speaking ahead of a European Council meeting Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on the activists to halt their voyage, saying it could jeopardise US President Donald Trump's latest proposed Gaza peace plan, currently still under negotiation, reports AFP.
"In the face of a historic opportunity, I cannot understand the insistence on an initiative that carries elements of danger and irresponsibility," she said.
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