'Ongoing acts of genocide in Gaza': Maldives becomes latest nation to ban entry of Israelis

The Maldives government on Tuesday announced that it is banning the entry of Israeli people in the Island nation. In a statement, President Mohamed Muizzu's office said that the ban is due to Israel's "continued atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide" in Gaza.

“The ratification reflects the government’s firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people,” Muizzu's office said in a statement, as quoted by Times of Israel.

"The Amendment introduces a new provision to the Immigration Act, expressly prohibiting the entry of individuals holding Israeli passports into the territory of Maldives," the statement added.

As per local media, the ban passed in the Maldives parliment with a unanimous votes amoung all MPs who voted.

Earlier, on Sunday, Bangladesh had announced that it was reintroducing 'except Israel' on all passports, effectively barring its citizens from visting Israel.

“We issued the letter to the passport and immigration department on April 7,” Nilima Afroze, deputy secretary of the Bangladesh home ministry, had told the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency.

The on-going war in Gaza which was started on October 7, 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israel has so far resulted in over 50,000 deaths in Palestine, as reported by AFP.

Despite agreeing for a ceasefire in January, on March 18, Israel resumed airstrikes in Gaza, effectively ending the truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that combat operations had resumed “in full force,” and that the airstrikes were “just the beginning.”