JERUSALEM (AP) — The Latest on the stepped-up fighting between Israel and militant Hamas rulers (all times local):
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DHAKA, Bangladesh — Thousands of Muslims led by activists from an Islamic political party have demonstrated in Bangladesh’s capital to denounce attacks by Israel against Palestinians.
After the end of Eid al-Fitr prayers at Dhaka’s main Baitul Mokarram Mosque Friday, activists from the Islamic Andolan Bangladesh, or Islamic Movement Bangladesh, began protesting and were joined by thousands of others.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh celebrated the key festival in a subdued manner after the government urged people to avoid large gatherings. Authorities arranged prayers in phases at the Baitul Mokarram Mosque, where devotees maintained distancing to avoid spreading the coronavirus.
Afterward, protesters crowded together outside, carrying signs reading “Boycott terrorist state Israel” and chanting “Down with Israel.”
The current eruption of violence between Israelis and Palestinians began a month ago in contested Jerusalem. The clash surged on Monday into the most severe outburst of hostilities since the 2014 Gaza war.
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians living along Gaza’s northern and eastern borders are fleeing intense Israeli bombardment.
Families toting supplies sought refuge on Friday in temporary shelters in central Gaza City as Israeli artillery pounded northern Gaza in an attempt to destroy a vast network of militant tunnels. The assault brought the front lines closer to dense civilian areas and paved the way for a potential ground invasion.
Fleeing families arrived in pickup trucks, on donkeys and by foot at schools run by the United Nations, hauling pillows and pans, blankets and bread. Men lugged large plastic bags and women carried infants on their shoulders, cramming into classrooms.
One mother who fled to a downtown school with her children said “nothing remains for us” back home in the northern town of Beit Lahiya. Her son, Othman, said he had felt the family’s house “shake up and down,” adding that “everyone was running.”
The Associated Press
