Indonesia’s cabinet secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, recently attempted to defend the government’s position on the situation in the Gaza Strip. His defence relied on two claims. He said casualties have “significantly decreased” in the six months following a diplomatic agreement signed in Sharm El-Sheikh in October 2025. Instead of more than 70,000 Palestinians killed during the peak of Israel’s assault in 2024 and 2025, he said deaths have fallen to around 600 to 1,000 people. He also argued that the violence cannot stop instantly and that casualties will continue even if the intensity declines.

These statements demand scrutiny.

Presenting a reduction in casualties as progress sets a deeply troubling standard. Six hundred deaths are not evidence of peace. Six hundred deaths mean six hundred Palestinians were still killed.

By highlighting declining numbers, Wijaya reduces mass killing into a statistical comparison. Palestinian lives become numbers that rise and fall on a chart. When the numbers decline, the policy is framed as working.

This logic strips away the human reality in Gaza.

Each death represents a person killed under bombardment, siege, and deprivation imposed by Israel. Families buried under........

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