Need immediate end to Gaza violence: President Widodo

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has reiterated the need for an immediate end to violence in the Gaza Strip in Palestine, while emphasizing the importance of prioritizing humanitarian issues amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Speaking recently at the 1st Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the President invited both ASEAN and GCC to jointly prevent the situation in Gaza from deteriorating further.

"We should not forget that the root of the problem is Israeli occupation against Palestinian territories. That is the very thing we should resolve according to the international parameters that have been agreed upon," he said during the summit, which was followed via the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.

He urged ASEAN and the GCC to make their stance clear and solid to support a just solution that can help realize lasting peace in the besieged Palestine enclave.

ASEAN has pushed for an immediate end to the violence and called for full respect for international humanitarian law amid the ongoing armed conflict.

In a joint statement released by ASEAN foreign affairs ministers, the regional bloc condemned the acts of violence that have left civilians, including citizens of ASEAN countries, dead and injured. It also pushed the creation of safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian corridors.

"We reaffirm our support for the negotiated two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in peace and security, consistent with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions," ASEAN said, according to the joint statement.

"This will be the only viable path to resolving the root cause of the conflict," the bloc affirmed.

Over the past weeks, Israel has continued to shell Palestine, killing approximately thousands of people.  The Palestinian health ministry said that at least 4,137 Palestinians have been killed and 13,000 wounded in Gaza in Israeli strikes since October 7.

Israel has been mounting attacks on buildings located in densely populated residential areas, which, it alleges, are being used by Hamas.

The humanitarian disaster has been further exacerbated by Israel's decision to cut off the supplies of water, electricity, and fuel to Gaza, depriving 2 million people of their right to access basic necessities.

The worsening living conditions of the people have raised the concern of the United Nations and human rights activists.

Following an attack on a hospital in Gaza on October 17, Israel bombed Greek orthodox church Saint Porphyrius on October 19, where some 500 Palestinian Muslims and Christians were sheltering. (ANTARA)