SRINAGAR: In mosques across Kashmir, the Imams and worshippers prayed fervently for Palestine, with an overwhelming sense of emotion prevailing when Gaza was mentioned during the sermons. Imams spoke about what they described as the systemic annihilation of a people by Israel and the United States and prayed for the survival of Muslims worldwide. They also expressed deep regret over the silence of the Muslim world in the face of the ongoing crisis.
Eid prayers across Kashmir were offered peacefully, but the plight of Palestinians remained at the forefront of discussions. Meanwhile, Palestinian officials reported that Israeli forces killed at least 64 people, including 13 children, in Gaza on the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Witnesses and medics told Anadolu that Israeli airstrikes targeted homes, a tent shelter, and civilian vehicles in Gaza City, Jabalia in the north, and Khan Younis in the south.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has recovered the bodies of eight medics, five civil defence workers, and a UN employee, a week after their vehicles came under Israeli fire near Rafah in southern Gaza. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has condemned the killings, calling the incident the deadliest attack on its workers anywhere in the world since 2017. The IFRC expressed outrage, stating that the medics were marked as humanitarian workers and should have been protected under international law.
According to the IFRC, the nine-person ambulance team came under heavy fire in al-Hashashin on March 23, and their bodies were retrieved only after a week-long delay in access. One medic remains missing. The PRCS stated that their staff were killed alongside members of Gaza’s civil defence agency and a UN employee, with Hamas blaming the Israel Defense Forces for the attack. The IFRC reaffirmed that international humanitarian law mandates the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and health services.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepens, with the United Nations warning that bakeries will run out of flour within a week, aid agencies halving food distributions, and markets devoid of essential vegetables. Many aid workers remain unable to move due to Israeli bombardment. Israel has cut off food, fuel, medicine, and other supplies to the Gaza Strip for four weeks, resulting in a worsening humanitarian catastrophe during what should have been a festive Eid al-Fitr.
The ongoing war has taken a staggering toll. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that at least 50,277 Palestinians have been confirmed dead, with 114,095 wounded. The Gaza Government Media Office had previously estimated the toll at over 61,700, accounting for those missing under rubble and presumed dead. In Israel, at least 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks, with more than 200 taken captive.
The PRCS reported on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of 15 rescuers killed a week ago when Israeli forces targeted ambulances in Gaza. The organisation described the attack as a war crime, stating that the victims were targeted while performing their humanitarian duties. Gaza’s civil defence agency confirmed the death toll, which included a UN employee from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The killings took place on March 23 in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, just days after Israel resumed bombardments following a nearly two-month truce.
