Maldives announces total ban on Israeli tourists in 'resolute solidarity' with Gaza

The Muslim-majority island nation Maldives announced on Tuesday that it would ban Israeli tourists from visiting the country due to its “resolute solidarity” with Gaza amid the war with the Iranian-backed terrorist militia Hamas. 

The Maldivian parliament approved the anti-Israel legislation on Tuesday and the country’s President Mohamed Muizzu ratified it on the same day. 

"The ratification underscores the government's strong stance in response to the ongoing atrocities and acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people," the presidential office said in an official statement.

"The Maldives reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian cause," it added.

The resolution barring Israeli tourists is reportedly set to take immediate effect.

The Jewish state has firmly rejected the widespread international accusation of “genocide” and has stated that the terrorist organization Hamas demonstrated genocidal intent when it slaughtered over 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

The large majority of the Israeli victims of the Hamas massacre were civilians including women children and the elderly. Hamas’ charter openly calls for Israel’s destruction and the murder of all Jews worldwide. 

Tiny Maldives, which has a population of around half a million people, is located in the Indian Ocean south of India. The Maldives gained its independence in 1965 from the United Kingdom. 

Israel and the Maldives had diplomatic relations until 1974 when the Maldives decided to suspend ties with the Jewish state following the Arab-initiated Yom Kippur War in 1973. The Maldives reportedly considered restoring relations with Israel in 2010, but the effort ended in 2014. 

Known for its pristine beaches, the Maldives has grown into a highly sought-after tourist destination.

Despite lacking formal diplomatic ties, approximately 11,000 Israeli tourists reportedly visited the country in 2024.

Israel urged its citizens in December 2023, merely two months after the Hamas Oct. 7 atrocities against Israelis, to avoid traveling to the Maldives “due to the heightened anti-Israel atmosphere, including public comments by officials,”

The widespread international claims of “genocide” and “war crimes” in Gaza are largely based on the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry’s highly disputable casualty statistics, which have not been verified by any independent source. Furthermore, Hamas’ statistics do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. 

In March 2024, the renowned U.S. statistics professor Abraham Wyner explained in an article how Hamas deliberately exaggerates and distorts civilian casualties in Gaza. 

Hamas has previously claimed that some 70% of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. However, recent research from the U.S.-based organization HonestReporting revealed that Hamas had quietly removed 3,400 previously claimed deaths from its statistics. 

“Hamas’s new March 2025 fatality list quietly drops 3,400 fully ‘identified’ deaths listed in its August and October 2024 reports – including 1,080 children. These ‘deaths’ never happened. The numbers were falsified – again,” said Salo Aizenberg, an HonestReporting board member who conducted the research. 

Furthermore, the research revealed that a whopping 72% of the Gaza casualties are combat-aged men.