Sri Lanka’s Leader of the Opposition has denounced “terrorism and state terrorism” and called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene in Israel’s military offensive into Gaza, despite defending war criminals and opposing international intervention in Sri Lanka.

Speaking in Sri Lanka’s parliament after the bombing of Ahil Arab Hospital in Gaza which saw the killing of hundreds, Premadasa described the situation as “carnage”.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) requested that renowned musician Santhosh Narayanan postpone a scheduled concert in Jaffna this week, as it clashes with the anniversary of India’s massacre of dozens of Tamils at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

Narayanan is currently in Jaffna, and the music composer will be performing at his concert 'Yaazh Gaanam' on October 21^st alongside Tamil diaspora artists from around the world.

Though Sri Lanka’s sweeping aragalaya protest moment that forced its then-president out of office is now over, long-awaited reforms on the island have not taken place. Instead, Colombo’s latest president, the purportedly Western-friendly president Ranil Wickremesinghe, has proceeded to slide the island further down the path of authoritarianism.

Amid the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Sri Lankan migrants working in Israel have chosen to remain in the country and face the possibility of escalating armed conflict rather than return to the island.

According to a spokesperson from the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB), there are some 8,000 Sri Lankans in Israel at present.

However, whilst other countries have been organising evacuations, there have not been any requests to return from Sri Lankan citizens, confirmed Labour Minister Manusha Nanayakkara. “There is no trend of Sri Lankan workers in Israel coming back to Sri Lanka,” he told reporters.

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who oversaw a military offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamils and stands accused of committing genocide, claimed that “war is never a solution” after a visit to the Palestinian  embassy in Colombo on Monday.

“I have consistently supported the Palestinian cause as the Founder President of the Sri Lanka Society for Solidarity with Palestine," said Rajapaksa.

"War is never a solution," he added.

The Sri Lankan Navy said it had conducted “special operations” and arrested 27 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, as well as seizing five trawlers in Jaffna and Mannar.

The latest arrests come as the detention of fishermen from Tamil Nadu, an issue that has plagued relations between Colombo and Chennai for years, continues.

In a move that is seen to further inflame tensions in the Mayilathamadu Madhavanai area of Batticaloa, a new Buddha statue was installed on Sunday under the leadership of controversial monk Ambitiya Sumanaratna. The installation ceremony also saw the participation of former Governor of the Eastern Province, Anuradha Yahampa.

The British Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, recently paid a visit to Jaffna where she met with Tamil parliamentarians and other officials, as part of her first visit to the island.

The 37th commemoration of the death of Lt. Col. Victor, a key commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who was martyred in 1986, was held in Mannar last week.

The event, organised by Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), a constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), paid tribute to the former commander of the Mannar district, who played a significant role during the armed struggle.

Buddhist monks led a Sinhala nationalist rally in support of Israel and its offensive on Gaza this week, reiterating Israeli military support during Sri Lanka’s war on Tamils.

“At that time when the international community was not helping us, the Israel state assisted us unconditionally to save us from terrorism,” claimed Senapathiye Ananda, a Buddhist monk from the little-known North & East Sinhala Association.