President of Indonesia announces country ready to send troops to Gaza

Prabowo Subianto said his country is willing to provide peacekeeping forces in Gaza. He made the remarks during a speech at the United Nations' General Assembly session.

"It is with a heavy heart that we recall the ongoing, unbearable tragedy in Gaza", he said. "Thousands of innocent people have been killed, most of them women and children, and famine and destruction have occurred. A humanitarian disaster is happening before our eyes. We condemn all acts of violence against innocent civilians," he said. The president reiterated his "commitment to the two-state solution in the Palestine problem."

"Indonesia declares that it will immediately recognise the State of Israel and support all guarantees for Israel's security the moment Israel recognises the Palestinian State and Palestine's independence," Subianto told the gathering.

The day before, the U.K. joined Australia and Canada to recognise Palestinian statehood despite opposition from Israel and the United States.

Prime Minister Kier Starmer maintained in a video statement on Sunday that this decision was "not a reward for Hamas".

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a harsh assessment of the announcement on Sunday evening, characterizing the choice as "rewarding Hamas."

Addressing reporters aboard Air Force One, he continued: "I don't think they should be rewarded. I am not in that camp, to be honest."

Starmer also said that the recognition was a step towards a two-state solution.

Subianto hailed France, Canada, Australia, Britain and Portugal's decision to recognise Palestine as a state, saying the countries had positioned themselves "on the right side of history."

The war in Gaza broke out after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Since then, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 164,000 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israeli officials have repeatedly challenged these figures however recently a former chief of the Israeli military, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said more than 1 in 10 Palestinians have been killed or injired since 2023.

"There are 2.2 million people in Gaza. There are in Gaza today more than 10% who were killed or injured, more than 200,000. This is not a gentle war", the former Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff said.

The UN also declared last month that famine has been confirmed in the enclave.