Indonesia pushes for efforts to stop violence in Palestine

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government is pushing efforts to stop the escalation of violence in Palestine and avoid more civilian casualties.

"Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi continues to communicate with a number of countries and international organisations to stop the violence," spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, told Antara via a short message on Tuesday.

According to Iqbal, discussions regarding the Palestinian issue were carried out by Minister Marsudi with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in a bilateral meeting in Jakarta on Monday. Brazil currently holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

On Oct 8, the Israeli military claimed it had struck 426 properties belonging to the Hamas, including a compound belonging to the head of the group's intelligence department.

Around 10 residential buildings in Gaza and civilian facilities, such as hospitals, were destroyed by the Israeli army and civilians were killed. The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that nearly 400 people, including children, were killed as a result of Israeli attacks, while more than two thousand others were wounded.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) stated that there are almost 74 thousand refugees in 64 UNRWA shelters. That figure is likely to increase, as heavy attacks and airstrikes continue, including in civilian areas. - BERNAMA-ANTARA