Jakarta. Indonesia once again urged the UN Security Council to take firm action against Israel, saying that the Israeli attack on a UN-run school in Gaza should have been the body’s wake-up call.

Indonesia also demanded the same thing from countries supporting Israel, although Jakarta does not say who they are specifically referring to.

Israeli forces over the weekend had launched an airstrike on Al-Jaouni school in central Gaza. The school was sheltering displaced Palestinian families. Palestinian officials reported that the attack had killed 16 people, while Israel claimed that the attack was targeting militants. In a foreign ministerial statement, Indonesia strongly condemns “the barbaric attack”.

“Israel continues to commit atrocities and violate international law, causing civilian casualties to continue to rise,” the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry said Monday.

“Are such atrocities still not enough for the UN Security Council and countries supporting Israel to take firm actions against Israel?” the ministry added.

Since the Gaza war escalated in Oct. 2023, the people of the Palestinian enclave had to endure countless violence and attacks. The UN Security Council recently passed a US-sponsored resolution that called for a three-phase ceasefire deal between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. This resolution is long overdue after the UN’s premier decision-making body saw the US -- Israel’s key ally -- vetoing ceasefire proposals in the past.  

President-elect Prabowo Subianto not long ago said Indonesia would stand ready to deploy peacekeeping troops to Gaza if requested by the UN. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country would work with Indonesia on the peacekeeping mission. Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said that now might not be the time for such plans, as the main focus now was to end the war. However, Palestine will keep the option open, according to Mansour. Hamas recently announced it was against the idea of having foreign forces in Gaza.