A Week After the Israel-Hamas War, Minister of Foreign Affairs: Preventing a Humanitarian Disaster in Palestine is an Urgent Priority

JAKARTA - Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said that efforts to stop the cycle of violence, protect civilians and prevent a more severe humanitarian disaster in Palestine are urgent and a top priority.

This statement was made by Foreign Minister Marsudi when communicating by telephone with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki .

"I have discussed with the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Palestine regarding the concerning situation in Gaza," Marsudi wrote in a tweet on the X platform on Saturday.

Apart from that, Marsudi also raised the Palestinian issue in a bilateral meeting in Jakarta with the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, who also serves as President of the UN Security Council in October.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been going on since last Saturday, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, October 14, when Hamas began carrying out Operation Al Aqsa Storm, namely sudden attacks from all directions including a series of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas revealed that the operation was in response to the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem area and increased violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Iron Sword to target Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel's retaliatory action then spread to cutting off water and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip, worsening living conditions in the besieged territory since 2007.