VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

More than 200 Palestinians, 63 of them children, have died as a result of the Israeli attack on the Palestinian Gaza territories. The attack between Israel and the Palestinian militias living in Gaza has resulted in the loss of Palestinian civilians far more than the Israelis. At least 217 Palestinians including children were killed by Israeli air raids on Gaza and 1400 injured. While on the Israeli side those who died from rockets of the Hamas militia numbering 12 people.

Since the conflict began on May 10, there has been no sign of Israel easing its attacks on Gaza on the west bank. The AFP news agency reported that more Palestinians died and were injured as a result of air raids on the Gaza Strip throughout Tuesday, May 18, 2021. The conflict, resulted from attacks by Israeli soldiers on Palestinians praying at the Al Aqsa Mosque a few days before Eid, hasn't shown any signs of abating. Israel has intensified its air strikes, while the Hamas militia also continues to launch rockets toward Israeli territory.

The reason Hamas launched the rocket attack was to retaliate against the Israeli security forces who obstructed and attacked Palestinians who were praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. Seeing the escalation of the conflict, the European Union called on a ceasefire between the two sides. With the exception of Hungary, European Union countries see the importance of ending the war in order to avoid more casualties, especially among civilians. The majority of European Union countries are in support of Palestine. This is in contrast to the United States, which has made Israel its main ally in the Middle East. Although seems to be different from Donald Trump in terms of aggressiveness in supporting Israel, Joe Bidden does not immediately withdraw his support for Israel, which has bombed the populated area of Gaza and caused hundreds of civilians to become victims. China has criticized the United States' stance on the war that has raged since May 18.

In this regard, the Palestinian struggle to create a state that is truly independent and safe from Israeli threats and interference is still far ahead. Support and pressure from Muslim countries through diplomatic channels are now much needed. There must be concrete efforts to stop Israeli actions which have caused hundreds of Palestinians to die. In line with this, the role of the United States is very decisive. As long as the United States is not in a neutral position by supporting Israel, a solution to the Palestinian Israeli conflict is difficult to realize. Therefore, the European Union stance which calls for a ceasefire to stop the war is an important note that needs to be realized. The international community certainly cannot allow the increasing number of Palestinians to become victims, either dead or injured.