Photo: Collected
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto on Saturday (1 June) called for an immediate investigation into the "humanitarian disaster" in the Gaza Strip and particularly the city of Rafah.
"I wish to address the recent tragic events in Rafah, in Gaza, which have resulted in numerous innocent casualties, including children, women and unarmed civilians. These heartbreaking incidents compel us to urgently call for comprehensive investigation into this humanitarian disaster. Understanding the full extent of this tragedy is crucial to preventing such incidents from happening again," Subianto said at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
The president-elect noted that Indonesia is ready to send peacekeepers with international mandate to Gaza if requested.
"Indonesia supports all efforts and all measures that can fasten the progress towards the final two-state solution. In the meantime, we are prepared to do whatever we can to provide humanitarian assistance, as well as where needed and when requested by the United Nations, we are prepared to contribute significant peacekeeping forces to maintain and monitor this respective ceasefire; as well as providing protection and security to all parties and to all sides," Subianto said.
In addition, Jakarta is prepared to immediately send medical personnel to operate a field hospital in the Gaza Strip with the consent of all sides, he noted.
"Indonesia also is very willing to evacuate and treat wounded Palestinian civilians and those needing hospital care in Indonesian hospitals. [Outgoing] President Joko Widodo has instructed me to announce that we are ready to evacuate, to receive and to treat with medical care up to 1,000 patients in the immediate future," the president-elect said.
Israel sent troops into the city of Rafah on May 7, seven months after an attack by Palestinian movement Hamas on Israeli territory unleashed the worst escalation of conflict in the Gaza Strip in decades. Israel's war cabinet vowed to expand the operation in Rafah until it accomplished its declared goal of eliminating all Hamas fighters.
According to UN estimates, more than 945,000 people have been displaced from Rafah due to Israeli strikes since May 6.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 36,200 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.
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