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Indonesia offers to temporarily shelter injured and orphaned Palestinians from Gaza
Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto said on Wednesday that his country will offer temporary shelter to Palestinian medical evacuees and children orphaned by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
“We are ready to evacuate those who are injured or traumatised, and orphans, if they want to be evacuated to Indonesia, and we are ready to send planes to transport them,” Subianto said, adding that he has instructed his foreign affairs minister to discuss evacuation plans with the Palestinian authorities at once.
According to the Associated Press (AP), he said Indonesia is ready to evacuate a first group of about 1,000 victims, who will stay in the country until they have fully recovered from their injuries and Gaza is safe enough to return to. Subianto said the move was not for permanent resettlement.
Subianto spoke before getting on a flight to Abu Dhabi, the first stop in a weeklong tour of the Middle East that also includes stops in Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan. He said he would consult on the planned evacuations with those countries, some of which have also accepted Palestinians for humanitarian reasons, reports the AP.
He added that other countries have called on Indonesia to increase its role in seeking a resolution to the conflict in Gaza. The world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation has long been a strong supporter of the Palestinians.
“This is something complicated; it’s not easy, but I think it encourages the Indonesian government to play a more active role,” Subianto said.
UN secretary general says Gaza transformed into 'killing field'
United Nations (UN) secretary general António Guterres said on Tuesday that Gaza had become “a killing field” because Israel has continued to block aid, an accusation an Israeli official quickly denied, saying there was “no shortage” of aid, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“More than an entire month has passed without a drop of aid into Gaza. No food. No fuel. No medicine. No commercial supplies. As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened,” Guterres said in remarks to journalists.
Pointing to the Geneva conventions governing the treatment of people in war, Guterres emphasised the obligation of the “occupying power” to ensure the provision of food and medical supplies to the population. “None of that is happening today. No humanitarian supplies can enter Gaza,” Guterres said.
According to AFP, Israeli ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Oren Marmorstein rejected the allegations, saying there was “no shortage of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.” Marmorstein further alleged that Hamas has used recent aid to Gaza to “rebuild its war machine.”
Guterres also referenced recent Israeli proposals over controlling aid into Gaza, which a UN source told AFP included monitoring calories to prevent misuse by Hamas.
“The Israeli authorities newly proposed ‘authorization mechanisms’ for aid delivery risk further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour,” he told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.
“Let me be clear – we will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles – humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” Guterres said, demanding guarantees for the unhindered entry of aid to the coastal territory.
Guterres also raised the alarm about the situation in the West Bank. “The current path is a dead end – totally intolerable in the eyes of international law and history,” he said.
He added:
And the risk of the occupied West Bank transforming into another Gaza makes it even worse.
It is time to end the dehumanisation, protect civilians, release the hostages, ensure lifesaving aid, and renew the ceasefire.”
