TEHRAN – Indonesian Parliament speaker Agung Laksono has suggested that the troika of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) to pay a visit to the war-stricken Gaza Strip to assess the damages inflicted on the territory and study emergency aid to the affected people.

Laksono made the proposal in a phone call with Iran’s Parliament speaker Ali Larijani on Friday. The proposal was welcomed by Larijani.
Prior to the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Iran and Syria and Indonesia, as members of the APA troika, held several meetings in Beirut, Damascus, Amman, and Istanbul to help bring an end to the Israeli war crimes in the costal strip.
Larijani insisted that the international community must take urgent action to help reconstruct the Gaza Strip.
In a separate telephone conversations with Syrian Parliament speaker Mahmoud Al-Abrash, Larijani also called for serious efforts to provide aid to the people of Gaza and holding an APA troika meeting in Gaza.
Al-Abrash also welcomed the suggestion.
89% of Gazans have received no assistance
The international aid agency CARE reported on Wednesday that an overwhelming 89% of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents have received no humanitarian aid since the Israeli forces began their ruthless war on Gaza in late December.
CARE conducted a survey among Gaza residents that it says shows that more aid and humanitarian workers are needed in Gaza, and that Israel should “fully open” Gaza’s borders to allow “humanitarian supplies, building materials, and commercial goods into the region.”
Another 56% of Gazans are hosting displaced people in their homes, according to the three-day phone survey.
“The survey shows very clearly, however, that the efforts of CARE and the other humanitarian partners have only been scratching the surface,” said Martha Myers, CARE International’s Country Director in the West Bank and Gaza.
“In order to meet the overwhelming needs of the population, we must have full access for humanitarian workers and material into and out of the Gaza Strip. A handful of medical staff allowed in over the past three weeks is not enough to rebuild Gaza,” added Myers.
Families face public health crisis
While the fighting in Gaza has stopped, tens of thousands of Palestinians remain in United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRAW) emergency shelters. Thousands of others who fled their homes remain with friends or relatives, UNICEF reported.
Entire neighborhoods were demolished in the Gaza Strip during the 23 days of fighting, leaving many without homes to return to. Palestinian officials estimate that 5,000 houses were damaged.
UNRWA provides basic commodities – including drinking water, bread and tinned meat to people seeking refuge. However, conditions in the emergency shelters are dire and humanitarian aid officials warn of a growing public health crisis.
Food and water rations are low, officials say, due to the UN’s inability to restock warehouses prior to the start of the conflict on 27 December. Basic supplies and fuel have been restricted from entering Gaza for months.
Electricity remains sporadic, and many neighborhoods are without water and sewage disposal because pumps have stopped running.