Gaza, March 12: Hamas said that Egyptian and Qatari mediators are continuing efforts to finalise the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and initiate the second phase of negotiations.

In a press statement, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif Al-Qanou said on Tuesday that Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been working to complete the ceasefire agreement and move forward with the second phase of negotiations, Xinhua news agency reported.

“There are positive signs in this regard,” said Al-Qanou, adding that Hamas is prepared to engage in upcoming negotiations in a manner that meets the demands of the Palestinian people.

He also called for increased efforts to provide humanitarian relief to the Gaza Strip and lift the ongoing blockade.

According to Al-Qanou, a Hamas leadership delegation arrived in Cairo on Monday and discussed mechanisms for initiating the second phase of negotiations.

Meanwhile, senior Hamas leader Abdul Rahman Shadid stated in a televised conference that Israel continues its “criminal policies” against Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza.

He accused Israel of killings, displacement, mass arrests, blocking food and medical aid, and closing border crossings — worsening the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

Shadid highlighted that Israel’s military operation in Jenin and its refugee camp has entered its 51st day, while similar actions in Tulkarm and its camps, Nour Shams and Tulkarm, have continued for 43 days.

He described these operations as part of Israel’s broader strategy to expand settlements and impose a new reality on Palestinian territories.

Dhaka, March 11: Amid ongoing protest movements in Bangladesh against gender-based violence, another six children were raped in six districts, according to local media reports on Tuesday.

At least seven people were arrested on Monday on charges of rape in six districts.

These cases of sexual violence were reported from across several districts of Bangladesh. The children who were sexually assaulted are all aged from six to fourteen. Among one of the incidents, a teenage girl who was a victim of sexual assault died by suicide after being falsely accused and vilified during a local arbitration meeting, reports the leading Bangladeshi newspaper, The Daily Star.

These rising incidents of sexual assault, despite the demonstrations by the people against the rising incidence of violence against women, exposed the further deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has recently been gripped with protest marches against the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus. Women in Bangladesh took to the streets demanding justice for rape, stricter punishment for offenders, and the resignation of Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.

Students and teachers from different universities across the country also demonstrated against the recent rape incidents, including that of an eight-year-old in Magura who is currently fighting for her life, and demanded exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the crime, local media in Bangladesh reported.

During the demonstrations, Dhaka University Professor Tasneem Siraj Mahboob called for the dismissal of the Home Affairs Advisor instead of his resignation, emphasising that she had demanded this months ago.

“Resignation is an honourable exit. He doesn’t deserve that honour,” she was quoted as saying by the country’s leading daily, The Dhaka Tribune.

The various political outfits that earlier joined hands to overthrow the democratically elected government of Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina have criticised the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus for the failing law and order situation and the rising incidence of violence against women across Bangladesh.

Addressing a rally on Monday, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Senior Joint Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the rise in incidents of rape and violence against women in the country is due to the present administration’s inaction, according to a report by United News of Bangladesh.

“Why is this situation arising under the current interim government? If the administration had functioned properly, incidents of rape, murder, injuries, and corruption would not have escalated,” he said.

Rizvi said that the reality now is that the number of rape incidents has increased, and women are not safe anywhere in the country.

Addressing the media on Sunday, the radical outfit Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar told The Dhaka Tribune, “Women and children are not safe anywhere today — be it on buses, trains, launches, offices, homes, schools, or madrasas. The situation in the country is much worse than what is reflected in newspapers and the media.”

Several cases of violence against women have been reported from across Bangladesh since the Muhammad Yunus-led interim regime came to power in August 2024. The incompetence of the interim government in curbing gender-based violence sparked public outrage, with students demanding the resignation of Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and the interim government accountable for degrading the law and order situation across the nation.

Sanaa, March 11: Yemen’s Houthi leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, announced that his group is preparing military operations against Israeli-linked vessels if humanitarian aid does not reach Gaza within a four-day deadline he set last week.

“We stand by our deadline for the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, and our armed forces are ready to execute operations,” al-Houthi declared in a televised speech on the group’s Al-Masirah TV channel on Monday.

The Houthi leader had previously issued a four-day ultimatum to mediators between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the resumption of aid deliveries to Gaza. This deadline is set to expire on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Houthi group, who control much of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, has launched drone and rocket attacks against Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and Israeli cities since November 2023, expressing support for Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

In response, Israel has conducted retaliatory strikes targeting Houthi military sites in Sanaa and the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The Houthi attacks ceased following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. However, the group now threatens to resume operations if the blockade on Gaza is not lifted.

The Houthi group, which controls large swathes of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, has previously targeted vessels they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea as support for Palestinians during the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has targeted the Houthis in Yemen five times during the ongoing conflict. The most recent strike occurred on January 10. The initial attack took place on July 20, 2023, followed by additional strikes on September 29, December 19 and December 26. The port of Hodeidah was repeatedly hit in these airstrikes.

Since November last year, the Houthi group, which controls much of northern Yemen, has been conducting missile and drone attacks on what it said were “Israeli-linked” ships in regional waters and beyond, as well as targets in Israel, to show solidarity with Palestinians amid their conflict with Israelis in Gaza.