Indonesia will ‘quit peace board unless Palestinians benefit’

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Palestinians ride in the back of a pick-up truck pas hundreds of tents are set up to house displaced Palestinians who lost their homes and businesses during Israeli military bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip on March 6, 2026. (AFP)
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isplaced Palestinians jostle for food at a food bank in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip on March 6, 2026. The majority of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, by the war that began with Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. (AFP)
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The Suleiman family break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan beside the ruins of a mosque where they are currently taking shelter in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP)
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Displaced Palestinians who lost their homes and businesses during Israeli military bombardment of the Gaza Strip, sit outside their tents in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip on March 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Updated 07 March 2026
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Indonesia will ‘quit peace board unless Palestinians benefit’

  • President Prabowo says Jakarta’s joining of the board is aimed at achieving stability in Gaza

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will quit US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace if it does not benefit Palestinians, a government statement said, as the country’s involvement faces scrutiny following the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The former general has come under mounting criticism from Muslim groups for his decision to join the board.
Prabowo told leaders of local Muslim groups this week that Indonesia’s membership of the Board of Peace aimed to achieve a lasting peace in Gaza, according to a statement by the government communication agency on Friday.

HIGHLIGHTS

• In a statement this month, the Indonesian Ulema Council, urged the Indonesian government to withdraw its membership from the board, calling it ‘ineffective in realizing true peace in Palestine.’

• President Prabowo attended the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington last month, and pledged to send 8,000 troops to Gaza under the International Stabilization Force.

But he added that the country would withdraw from the board if it does not bring benefits to Palestinians or align with Indonesia’s national interests, a statement quoted Hanif Alatas, member of a Muslim group, as saying.
“The President said that if he sees that there is no longer any benefit for Palestine ... and it is not in line with Indonesia’s national interest, then he will withdraw,” Hanif said.
In a statement this month, the country’s top clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council, urged the Indonesian government to withdraw its membership from the board, calling it “ineffective in realizing true peace in Palestine.”
Prabowo attended the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington last month, and pledged to send 8,000 troops to Gaza under the International Stabilization Force.
Separately, the WHO has said that medical supplies in Gaza are running critically low despite Israel’s reopening of a key crossing this week.
Supplies of some items such as gauze and needles have already run out, said WHO’s regional director Hanan Balkhy, citing information from the Health Ministry in Gaza.
“Stocks of ‌essential medicines, trauma ‌supplies and surgical consumables are critically ​low, ‌and fuel ​shortages continue to limit hospital operations,” she said.
“The situation is difficult, and we will be running out of whatever is remaining.” On Tuesday, the Israeli military agency that controls access to Gaza said it had reopened the Kerem Shalom border crossing “for the gradual entry of humanitarian aid.” It had closed entry points earlier 
citing missile threats from Iran amid an escalating ‌air war after Israeli ‌and US forces attacked Iran on Saturday.
The ​Rafah crossing into Egypt, the ‌main exit point for most people in Gaza, has ‌remained shut and medical evacuations suspended, WHO said.
Some 18,000 people, including injured children and people with chronic diseases, are awaiting evacuation, according to the UN agency.
Balkhy said that ‌it was able to import some medical supplies and fuel on Tuesday and Wednesday, but that some trucks remain on standby in Al-Arish, Egypt.
“We’re talking about … maximum 200 out of 600 daily trucks that need to go in are going in so that is really not enough to support the needs in Gaza,” she said. She called for more fuel to be allowed to enter to run hospitals.
Half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still shut after the Israel-Hamas war ended in a shaky ceasefire last October and the ones that are open are ​struggling to sustain critical ​services such as surgery, dialysis and intensive care, she said.
Separately, the fishing industry in the enclave has been largely destroyed as a result of Israel’s war with Hamas, worsening the food security crisis.
The industry had once been a critical source of food, income and affordable protein for the people of Gaza.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, fishing activity in Gaza now stands at less than 10 percent of prewar levels following the widespread destruction of boats, ports and equipment, combined with prolonged maritime closures enforced under Israel’s naval blockade.
UN and human rights organizations estimate that up to 72 percent of Gaza’s fishing fleet has been damaged or destroyed, alongside near-total devastation of related infrastructure, including landing sites, storage facilities and repair workshops.
The remaining vessels are small, damaged skiffs capable of operating only meters from shore.

 


North Korean leader Kim watches cruise missile tests with his daughter

A strategic cruise missile test launch conducted on the destroyer Choe Hyon at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (AFP)
Updated 9 sec ago
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North Korean leader Kim watches cruise missile tests with his daughter

  • KCNA said the missiles hit target islands off North Korea’s west coast

SEOUL, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter observed tests of strategic cruise missiles fired from a warship, state media reported Wednesday, as North Korea threatened responses to US-South Korean military drills.
Images sent by the Korean Central News Agency showed the two in a conference room looking at a screen showing weapons being fired from the Choe Hyon, a year-old naval destroyer.
Kim Jong Un watched the missiles launches via video on Tuesday and underscored the need to maintain “a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent,” KCNA reported in a dispatch that did not mention his daughter.
The girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and about 13, has accompanied her father at numerous prominent events including military parades and weapons launches since late 2022. South Korea’s spy agency assessed last month Kim Jong Un was close to designating her as his heir.
KCNA said the missiles hit target islands off North Korea’s west coast. It quoted Kim Jong Un as saying the launches were meant to demonstrate the navy’s strategic offensive posture and get troops familiarized with weapons firings.
Kim Jong Un observed similar cruise missile launches from the Choe Hyon in person last week, but his daughter was not seen at that appearance.
Tuesday’s missile firings came after the start of the springtime US-South Korean military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
On Tuesday, Kim Jong Un’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, warned the drills reveal again the US and South Korea’s “inveterate repugnancy toward” North Korea. She said North Korea will “convince the enemies of our war deterrence.”
The 11-day Freedom Shield drill that began Monday is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise and will be accompanied by a field training program. North Korea often reacts to the two sets of training with its own weapons tests.