"Palestines Red Crescent is our partner in Palestine as fellow national organizations. Palestines Red Crescent President Younis Al-Katib told us that the most appropriate donation was in the form of cash," PMI Secretary General Budi Adiputro said here on Tuesday.
PMI has opened three bank accounts to receive donations for victims of Israeli military aggression in Gaza, Palestine.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, with the support of the International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) and Egypts Red Crescent, has been helping the victims, mostly civilians.
Adiputro said the Palestinian Red Crescent is currently in need of medical equipment, medicines, and ambulances to treat the injured victims.
In several Indonesian cities, such as Pontianak (West Kalimantan), Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara), Jayapura (Papua), Medan (North Sumatra), Gorontalo (Sulawesi), Bangka Belitung (Sumatra), Riau Province, and Yogyakarta, the public have raised money to be donated to the Gaza residents.
The Indonesian government has pledged US$1 million to help Gaza residents who have been bombed by Israel over the last eight days.
Israels heavy bombardment of densely populated Gaza Strip has put many Palestinians at risk, especially Palestinian children. They have become the victims of worsening violence in Gaza as the number of Palestinians killed in the deadly Israeli airstrikes continues to increase.
The death toll has risen to 173, with more than 1,270 injured. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has estimated that as many as 80 percent of those killed during the attacks were civilians. Among them, at least 33 children have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military campaign was launched last Monday, according to the latest reports.
"No child should have to suffer the terrifying impact of such violence," said UNICEF, Childrens Rights and Emergency Relief Organization Executive Director Anthony Lake, in a statement released on Sunday, stressing a further escalation in violence and its impact on children suffering from the ongoing violence.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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