The cease-fire is so indispensable to open humanitarian corridors, the ministry's Director for the Protection of Citizens and Legal Entities Overseas Judha Nugraha stated at a press conference here, Friday.
If the humanitarian corridors could have been created, efforts to evacuate civilians and distribute relief supplies for those severely affected by the war could immediately be carried out, he emphasized.
The creation of humanitarian corridors, however, could not be forced by external parties, but instead, be agreed upon by the warring camps, Nugraha remarked.
The Indonesian Government is currently focusing on ways to evacuate 10 Indonesian citizens from the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israel's intense bombardment since its war on Hamas began on October 7, he stated.
Apart from bombarding Gaza that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 Palestinians, with many of them being women and children, Israel has also cut off water, fuel, and electricity supplies into this small and densely-populated enclave.
If Gaza's deteriorating situation continues, Indonesia has warned of an imminent humanitarian disaster there, he remarked.
Hence, the Indonesian Government has called for an immediate end to the war that broke out following Hamas' unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7 and an immediate creation of humanitarian corridors.
"Safety is prioritized in the evacuation process. Thus, the evacuation routes must be secure. It is impossible to evacuate our citizens amid ongoing armed conflict," Nugraha emphasized.
He reiterated that 10 Indonesians in Gaza would only be evacuated if the humanitarian corridors had existed, he said, adding 133 other Indonesians are living in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zones.
Some 39 of them reside in Palestine's West Bank, while 94 others are in Sapir, Israel, he added.
The new armed conflict erupted again following the Hamas surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning. Prior to the Palestinian liberation fighters' assaults, Israel continued its closure of Gaza crossings.
The WAFA News Agency reported on September 25 that the Israeli closure of Gaza crossings had worsened the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.
According to WAFA, the Palestinians had already suffered from the severe impacts of "more than 17 years of tight Israeli land, sea, and air blockades."
Al Jazeera quoted Hamas, which runs Gaza, as saying its assault on Israel was "a response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence."
In response to the unprecedented surprise attack, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared war on Hamas and, according to Al Jazeera, pledged that the Israeli forces would "turn all Hamas hideouts into rubble."
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Translator: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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