Israel-Hamas war: Malaysia, Indonesia urge immediate Gaza ceasefire after hospital blast

“If this continues to persist, the victims will be mothers, children and patients, and this has reached a level of madness and without humanity,” Anwar was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper on the sidelines of an unrelated event on Wednesday.

“That is why we are calling for an immediate ceasefire to calm the situation down,” the Malaysian leader said.

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Abdul Hadi Awang, a Muslim cleric and leader of Malaysia’s influential opposition PAS party, in a statement blamed Tuesday’s blast on “Israel’s Zionist regime”, adding that “the world’s leaders and people must rise in the spirit of jihad to defend Palestine”.

“The Malaysian government must also pressure the International Criminal Court to charge Israel with war crimes against Palestine,” said Abdul Hadi. PAS, the single biggest party in Malaysia’s parliament, has said its annual general assembly this weekend would be heavily focused on the plight of the Palestinians.

“The attack clearly violates international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Indonesia urges that safe corridors for humanitarian access be opened immediately.”

The ministry also urged the international community, and in particular the UN Security Council, to take “concrete steps to stop attacks and acts of violence in Gaza”.

“Injustice against the Palestinian people has been going on for a very long time and is still happening today,” the statement said. “It is time for the world to prioritise the creation of a just peace for Palestine.”

Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim of the Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top body of Islamic scholars, also called for firm actions from the international community, and urged Indonesians to continue performing prayers and standing in solidarity with Palestine.

“We call on other countries, including Indonesia, to work together to find a way to bring Israel to international court,” he said.

“Israel is not fighting by upholding high ethics, but is carrying out destruction and damage through ruthless means,” he said, adding that these actions “are damaging Israel’s reputation in front of the world”.

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On social media, many Indonesians responded to news of the attack with outrage.

“Stop the violence from Israel, this is inhumane,” one X user wrote.

“If anyone still supports Israel after this brutal attack, they truly have no sense of morals or humanity,” another said.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she was travelling to Jeddah on Wednesday to attend a Ministerial Meeting by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

She said she would discuss the “military escalation and threat of defenceless civilians in Gaza” with members of the OIC, which is currently chaired by Saudi Arabia.

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The OIC bills itself as the second-largest global organisation after the United Nations, and has 57 members spread over four continents.

The grouping said in a statement on Saturday that the meeting would “address the escalating military situation in Gaza and its environs, as well as the deteriorating conditions that endanger the lives of civilians and the overall security and stability of the region”.

New Delhi has strongly backed Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 attack, which it described as an act of terrorism.