Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono: Don't Use Hunger as a Weapon!

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono hopes that humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip will be restored normally, reiterating the prohibition against using hunger as a weapon in the Palestinian enclave.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza has worsened since the latest conflict between Palestinian militants and Israel broke out on October 7, 2023, exacerbated by the Israeli blockade, which has caused Gaza to experience one of the worst famine crises in its history, according to international humanitarian organizations and aid groups.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono, during the "Mass Action to Defend Palestine" last Sunday, stated that Indonesia plans to send food aid, including 10,000 tons of rice, to Gaza in the near future.

"We are in the process, hopefully it won't be an airdrop," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, August 5.

Furthermore, Minister Sugiono stated that he hopes the humanitarian aid channel will be opened, given the significant risks and technical difficulties of delivering aid via airdrop.

"Don't use hunger as a weapon, just as a tool," the Indonesian Foreign Minister emphasized.

"Open humanitarian aid as widely as possible, because these are the victims, children, we often see pictures of babies everywhere, and I'm sure anyone with a sense of humanity will be disturbed," he stressed.

The latest conflict in Gaza erupted after Palestinian militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli estimates.

Israel responded with a blockade, airstrikes, and military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to a ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange on January 19. At least 20 of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza are believed to be alive. The majority of the original hostages have been released through diplomatic negotiations, although the Israeli military has also released several hostages.

On March 2, Israel reimposed a total blockade on Gaza under the pretext of pressuring Palestinian militants to agree to a US-proposed ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange. Following the end of the ceasefire agreement, Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18.

Meanwhile, medical sources in Gaza reported that as of Sunday, the Palestinian death toll since October 2023 had reached 60,839, while the number of injured had reached 149,588, according to Andolu.

Meanwhile, the death toll from starvation and related conditions, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, has reached 175, of which 93 are children.

Meanwhile, the number of those killed while seeking aid since May 27 has reached 1,487, while another 10,578 have been injured.