Mojo, a brand of Akij Venture Ltd, has raised Tk 4.14 crore and so far sent Tk 2.7 crore to support the Palestinians affected by Israeli attacks.

Under a campaign launched in late December 2023, Mojo collected the funds by donating Tk 1 for every 250ml, 500ml, 1 litre and 2-litre bottles of the soft drink sold, Md Maidul Islam, chief marketing officer of Akij Food and Beverage Ltd, told The Daily Star.

Moreover, Akij Venture Group has donated an additional Tk 3 crore to the fund, he said.

"We have donated food aid to the Palestinian people through the Palestinian embassy and by sending our own representatives directly," he said.

Currently, it is not possible to deliver humanitarian aid there, as Israel has intensified attacks on the Palestinians, he said.

"When the ceasefire was in place, we sent our own representatives to deliver humanitarian assistance," he added.

"At present, we are supporting Palestinian refugees in Egypt through Egypt's Al-Azhar University and with their assistance."

"Another team of our representatives will soon be going to Egypt. Through them, we hope to deliver a significant portion of the funds we are receiving daily," he said.

Mojo had around a 26 percent market share in December 2023, when the campaign began.

Now, the brand has around 40 percent of the beverage market share in Bangladesh, said the chief marketing officer of Akij Food and Beverage Ltd.

"The campaign for Palestine and the competitive pricing of drinks helped Mojo increase its market share," said Islam.

Mojo made the donations at a time when a global outcry, including from Bangladesh, began to end Israeli atrocities in Palestine.

Today, the "March for Gaza" programme began this afternoon at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka, with thousands of participants expressing solidarity with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Hamas expects "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, an official said, as senior leaders from the Palestinian movement hold talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Saturday, according to AFP.

Gaza's health ministry said on Friday that at least 1,542 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 this year, when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to over 60,000.