Jakarta. Indonesia, a staunch supporter of Palestine, said Thursday that it welcomed the ceasefire deal that Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas had agreed on.

Mediators Qatar and the US had just confirmed that the two warring sides had agreed to pause the war in the Gaza strip, starting on Sunday. The much-awaited ceasefire immediately sparked international support, including that from Jakarta.

“Israeli atrocities in Palestine have claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. These are not just mere statistics. Every number represents someone's life. Indonesia welcomes the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as has been consistently advocated by Indonesia and the international community,” Foreign Minister Sugiono said.

Jakarta pushed for the implementation of the deal -- which urged Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza -- to be carried out “immediately and comprehensively” to prevent further deaths in the Palestinian enclave. 

Sugiono said the ceasefire could be a momentum to bring peace to Palestine. The world’s largest Muslim-majority country also repeated global calls for the adoption of the so-called “two-state solution”, which proposes that Israel and Palestine should live side by side as two independent states.

"But peace is only possible with the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, in accordance with the two-state solution based on agreed international parameters,” Sugiono said.

The minister then promised that Indonesia would "stand ready to contribute to rebuilding the lives of the people in Gaza". This includes by sending humanitarian assistance and gibing support to restore UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA's role. Indonesia also pledged support to the hard-hit Gaza's reconstruction.

According to Qatar, the three-part deal starts with a six-week halt to the fighting as well as a gradual hostage release. The agreement also came after 15 months of heightened war. Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The attack triggered Israel to go on full offensive on Gaza.

News agency Al-Jazeera reported that the Gaza war had killed 46,707 Palestinians over the past 15 months, some 18,000 were children.

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