At least 29 Palestinians were killed while awaiting aid in two separate Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Gaza’s health ministry said.
In the first incident, Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-ruled strip said eight people were killed in an airstrike on an aid distribution center in Al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. Later, at least 21 people were killed and more than 150 wounded by Israeli gunfire at a crowd awaiting aid trucks at a northern Gaza roundabout, Gaza’s health ministry said.
In a statement, Israel’s military denied attacking aid centers, describing the reports as “false.”
“As the IDF assesses the incident with the thoroughness that it deserves, we urge the media to do the same and only rely on credible information,” the statement said.
The Gaza conflict has displaced most of the enclave’s 2.3 million population. Chaotic scenes and deadly incidents have taken place during aid distributions as desperately hungry people scrambled for food.
On Feb. 29, Palestinian health authorities said Israeli forces shot dead more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for an aid delivery near Gaza City. Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over.
In Deir Al-Balah, also in central Gaza, an Israeli missile hit a house on Thursday, killing nine people, Palestinian medics said. Residents said Israeli aerial and ground bombardments persisted overnight across the enclave, including in Rafah in the south, where over a million displaced people are sheltering.
The war was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 people killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s air, sea and ground assault on Gaza has killed more than 31,000 people and wounded over 71,500, according to Gaza health authorities.
Efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist militant Hamas have so far failed. While Israel said it sought a deal that would secure the release of hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinians held by Israel, Hamas insists an agreement should end the war.
Late on Thursday, Hamas said it presented to mediators a comprehensive vision of a truce deal based on stopping what it calls Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, providing relief and aid, the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new Hamas position was based on “unrealistic demands.”
With the war now in its sixth month, the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine and global pressure has been growing on Israel to allow more access.
Israel denies obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza. It has blamed failures by aid agencies for delays and accuses Hamas of diverting aid. Hamas denies this and says Israel uses hunger as a weapon in its military offensive.
A ship carrying aid was approaching Gaza where the US military plans to set up a dock to enable distribution of up to two million meals a day. While welcoming aid ships, Palestinian and UN officials say maritime deliveries are not a substitute for sending aid through land crossings.
Hamas on Thursday called for an escalation of protests and attacks against Israel in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem on Friday, the first day of Friday prayers in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In a restaurant at a southern Israel junction, a soldier was stabbed on Thursday, Israeli police said. It said the suspected attacker, a 22-year-old from the nearby Bedouin city of Rahat, was shot and “neutralized.”
MUI issues ban on Israeli dates
Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the boycott has also resonated with dates getting a call-out by religious authorities.
The country’s highest clerical body the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) and Nadhatul Ulema, the largest Muslim mass organisation, issued separate injunctions against consuming dates imported from Israel or those grown in the West Bank.
“We wish to remind Indonesians, Muslim or otherwise, to be on the side of humanity and refrain from buying Israeli dates during Ramadan,” said Sudarnoto, MUI chair for international relations on Wednesday, adding emphatically the boycott of products by “corporations affiliated with Israel” must continue.
Separately, Nadhatul Ulema chairman Ahmd Fahrur Rozi, said his organisation, representing 40 million Indonesian Muslims, supported MUI’s fatwa on declaring Israeli dates “haram” or forbidden.
“This is the most peaceful way for us to show solidarity with the Palestinian people,” he said.
Indonesian media has released a host of brand names for Israeli dates.
A wholesale seller of dates based in southern Surabaya, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was possible some of the non-label dates sold in bulk had Israeli origin.
“But we can’t tell for sure because they arrived from importers with no label whatsoever,” she explained, adding unlabelled dates were typically cheaper.
According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2023 Indonesia’s import of dates amounted to US$80.5 million, almost 30 per cent of which originated from Egypt. There is no specific data on dates imported from Israel.
Hasan Johnny Widjaya, chairman of the Indonesian Importers of Fruit and Vegetables claimed his members had no business links with Israeli companies. “No dealing with Israel at all, so no imported dates from them!”
Despite the assurances, Surabaya homemaker Amirah Purborekso, 35, admitted she was still worried about unknowingly buying Israeli dates.
“Logically, sellers, after knowing about the fatwa, would probably conceal the origin of their dates if they came from Israel.”
She said she had taken part in the ongoing boycott of Israeli-affiliated products for months now and was determined to carry on.
“So, for dates, I’ll just buy those that come in boxes with clear labels and information on where they came from.”
As part of the movement to boycott products and goods produced by Israel, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has banned Muslims in the country from purchasing or consuming dates grown in the Jewish state
Sudarmoto, the head of international relations and cooperation at the MUI, announced earlier this week that Israeli-grown dates should be considered haram or forbidden by Islamic law.
"If you come across Israeli dates, please don't buy those," the senior MUI cleric was quoted by Detik.com as saying.
He said that the ban against Israeli dates was in fact a follow-up to an edict issued by the MUI in 2023 on the obligation to support the Palestinian cause.
"The MUI edict has been issued, and this is a reminder that that Muslims and Indonesians in general who care about humanity must boycott Israeli products and the products of companies or countries affiliated with Israel," he said.
The council also provided a list of brands of dates grown and packaged in Israel including "Star Dates," "Dates Medjoul" and "Jordan River".
Consumer boycott widens to include Israeli dates as Muslims in Malaysia, Indonesia observe Ramadan
Dates from Israel are the latest goods to fall foul of a consumer boycott across Muslim nations in Southeast Asia, after Malaysian customs arrested a man for allegedly mislabelling the fruit for local sale, while Indonesia’s highest Muslim authority reminded the public to snub Israeli imports of the sweet snack during the holy month of Ramadan.
Muslims across the region have observed a months-long boycott of Israeli goods and companies in protest against the brutal assault on Gaza, which has killed over 30,000 Palestinians so far, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the overwhelming majority of them civilians. Israel says 1,200 of its citizens were killed by the October 7 attack on its territory by Hamas militants, who took scores more hostage into Gaza.
The boycott, amped up by social media, has hit the bottom line of some companies in Malaysia over apparent links to Israel, prompting a plea from the wealthy owner of the local unit of Starbucks for consumers to ease up on his firm, and legal action by McDonald’s for damages.
Now Israeli dates, a sweet fruit eaten to break fast during Ramadan, are in the cross hairs of a consumer campaign which is flying across Malaysian and Indonesian chat groups over fears Israeli dates are being sold to unwitting buyers in the Muslim nations.
A Malaysian minister on Thursday warned “strict action” would be taken against people who “mislead consumers” after a man was detained in a raid on a warehouse in Klang Port, Selangor.
“During the raid, officers confiscated 73 packs of jumbo medjool dates believed to have come from Israel,” Armizan Mohd Ali, minister in charge of domestic trade and cost of living told parliament on Thursday, responding to questions.
“We view this issue seriously and will take strict action against those who mislead consumers,” he said.
Customs officials on Wednesday said the dates were bulk-imported along with other food items from European countries in 2022, according to local news reports.
The dates were declared as “foodstuff” and later repackaged for sale on the local market, customs deputy director general Datuk Sazali Mohamad said.
Malaysia has long maintained strict trade sanctions on Israel. Any import or export between the two countries can only be carried out with a special permit from the ministry of investment, trade and industry.
Last December, Malaysia announced an immediate ban on vessels owned by Israeli shipping giant Zim from docking and unloading cargo at its ports, along with any ship bearing the Israeli flag.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim this week said he made “no apologies” for maintaining diplomatic links with Hamas despite Western pressure to denounce the militant group.
Anwar, who is seeking the approval of an increasingly vocal Muslim electorate, has been among the loudest critics of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Malaysia’s public has also led Southeast Asia’s boycott drive.
A day before the start of the Ramadan fasting month, Malaysia’s national newswire released a graphic on its social media accounts on the various types of dates that were popular among Malaysians, which included a brief reminder to avoid buying boycotted goods such as dates from Israel, the West Bank and Jordan Valley.
In the weeks ahead of Ramadan, Malaysian social media was awash with posts urging Muslims to be wary of unknowingly buying dates from Israel, listing 32 brands which have allegedly flooded the local market.
“Be careful, everyone! Pay attention to everything we buy in our daily lives, continue the boycott of products from companies that are enriching Israel,” read a Facebook post by one Hairul Nizam, who shared a video claiming that Israel grows its dates for export on Palestinian land.
“Starbucks, McD, and all brands that fatten them up, we maintain a boycott. Replace them with local brands or companies that support the Palestinian struggle.”
Many of the posts included long lists of brands that allegedly sourced the mildly-sweet fruit from Israel, with some even accusing local Chinese businesses of ignoring Muslim sensitivities by selling repackaged Israeli dates on the local market.
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