Israel's actions in Gaza are undermining the foundation for peaceful coexistence, Palestine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Aghabekian Shahin said Tuesday.
She delivered the remarks during a high‑level open debate of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
Tuesday's event focused on the path to peace and the immense humanitarian needs after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank continues to deteriorate.
"For us Palestinians, regardless of our faith, this conflict is about the negation of our rights and of our existence in our ancestral land. It will end with the end of the occupation, and the recognition of our rights, and the independence of our state. The two-State solution based on international legitimacy is the only way forward," said Varsen.
The UN reported that as regional tensions escalate, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly fragile. People in the Gaza Strip are facing continuous and deadly Israeli strikes, as well as severe humanitarian conditions.
Health authorities underscored the toll, reporting that 72,593 Palestinians have been killed and 172,399 wounded since the Hamas‑Israel conflict erupted on October 7, 2023. Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10 last year, 817 Palestinians have died and 2,296 have been injured.
Israeli actions in Gaza undermine peaceful coexistence: Palestinian minister
Israeli actions in Gaza undermine peaceful coexistence: Palestinian minister
Rescue and recovery work is ongoing at the site of a deadly train collision at a station on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital Jakarta which has killed at least 15 people and left dozens injured, while the search for potential survivors trapped in the wreckage continues.
The incident unfolded at around 20:50 local time on Monday when a commuter train on the Jakarta-Bekasi route hit an electric taxi and came to a halt. Minutes later, a long-distance express train traveling from Jakarta to Surabaya crashed into the stationary commuter train from behind. The rear carriage, designated for women only, bore the full force of the impact.
One anxious mother, Fitria Yunis, said she had been waiting at a hospital overnight following the crash. Her daughter, who was on board the commuter train, suffered serious injuries and is receiving treatment in the ICU.
"My daughter didn't realize at first that a train had hit a taxi. She was on her phone. When the second crash happened and the train collided, she was immediately thrown across the carriage. Her legs flew up in the air, and she became trapped between two metal poles. She screamed for help, and after several hours, they were able to evacuate her through a nearby window," she said.
Rescue teams have remained on-site since the collision and have been using heavy-duty equipment to reach victims who who are trapped inside the damaged carriages. Officials say the scale of destruction has made the operation slow and highly challenging.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited survivors at a hospital in Bekasi on Tuesday morning, extending condolences on behalf of the government and promising a swift investigation.
Agus Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development of Indonesia, gave an update from the site of the tragic incident.
"Right now we are in the second stage: the recovery process. We aim to have the damaged carriages lifted from the tracks. We will continue to evaluate the technical and operational side of this accident. We are aware that having a rail network that overlaps with our road and land transport is challenging, but we will investigate this further to find out what steps are needed to prevent a similar incident from happening," he said.
The accident has disrupted services across Jakarta's commuter rail network, which carries nearly one million passengers daily, affecting hundreds of thousands of commuters who rely on the trains for their daily journeys.
An investigation into the cause of the incident is being conducted by the rail operator and the National Transportation Safety Committee.
Death toll rises in Indonesian train collision as rescue, recovery work continues
