Indonesia Urges UN Security Council To Take Action To Stop Israeli Attacks

Conditions in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. (UNRWA/Ashraf Amra)

JAKARTA - Indonesia condemned Israel's latest attack on the Gaza Strip, Palestine on Tuesday that killed hundreds of people, the majority of children and women, urging the United Nations to take action to stop the attack.

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its uploads on social media strongly condemned the attacks that occurred in the month of Ramadan.

"This attack adds to a series of Israeli provocations that threaten the ceasefire and disrupt the prospect of peace negotiations towards the Two-State Solution," the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted on social media X as quoted March 19.

Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza, killing more than 400 people, Palestinian health authorities said on Tuesday, quoted from Reuters on March 18, as Israel is determined to use its power to free all remaining hostages.

Airstrikes hit homes and tent camps from north to south of the Gaza Strip and Israeli tanks opened fire on the border lines to the east and south of the enclave.

"Indonesia urges the UN Security Council and the international community to take immediate action to stop Israeli attacks, and calls on all parties to restore the ceasefire to prevent more civilian casualties," the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote.

"Indonesia reaffirms its consistent position that stopping Israel's illegal occupation is the only way to a just and lasting peace in the region," the ministry added.

The attack was much broader on the scale than the usual drone strike Israel said had recently carried out against militant suspects, and followed weeks-long failed attempts to approve an extension of the ceasefire agreed on January 19.

Gaza's medical sources said most of the victims of Israeli attacks were children and women, being taken to hospitals in the Gaza Strip since dawn on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 660 others were injured in a series of airstrikes and fire belts carried out by Israeli aircraft. Some of the victims are still buried by the rubble.

Israel continued their aggression in the Gaza Strip at dawn, after more than two months of pause, launching a series of intensive airstrikes and belts in several areas of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed the resumption of the war in the Gaza Strip, and its coverage will be gradually expanded in the coming hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told the military to take "hard action" against Hamas in response to the group's refusal to release the remaining hostages and because of their rejection of the ceasefire proposal.

Hamas itself is estimated to still have 59 of the approximately 250 hostages arrested in its offensive on October 7, 2023 in Israel, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire and endangering mediatorial efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire.