President Prabowo Offers Temporary Evacuation for Gazans Amid Ongoing Crisis

The prolonged conflict between Israel and Palestine is getting more and more alarming; human rights violations are getting rampant. Israel also continues to bombard various areas in Gaza, causing tens of thousands of people to die and hundreds of thousands to be injured. Israel even bombed hospitals that should be a safe place for Palestinians. Indonesia, as a country that has been very active in voicing support for Palestine, also continues to show its commitment to supporting Palestine.

On April 9, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto surprised the public by stating that the Indonesian government was ready to accommodate 1,000 Gazans in the first wave of evacuation. “We are ready to evacuate those who are injured, those who are traumatized, orphans, whoever the Palestinian government and related parties want to evacuate to Indonesia; we are ready to send planes to transport them,” Prabowo said, as reported by BBC News.

However, according to the information available, this evacuation will only be temporary until they recover and are healthy, and conditions in Gaza are better. For this plan, President Prabowo has also visited five countries in the Middle East, namely Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan, to ask for support for his plan to evacuate residents of Gaza, Palestine, to Indonesia. According to Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, these five countries welcome this in principle. Still, if you look technically, of course, it will also be very difficult to implement. Reporting from Tempo, this of course also reaped various pros and cons from various parties,
including being associated with the relocation efforts of Gazans desired by the United States and Israel.

However, both President Prabowo and Foreign Minister Sugiono also firmly stated that the evacuation of Gazans to Indonesia would only be temporary to recover the wounded as a form of humanitarian care, not a permanent relocation.

President Prabowo’s plan to temporarily evacuate Gaza residents shows Indonesia’s great concern for the humanitarian crisis in Palestine. Despite many challenges and pros and cons, the government emphasized that the main purpose of this evacuation is to help the wounded and traumatized residents, not permanent relocation. During a worsening situation, this step is clear evidence that Indonesia stands with Palestine and continues to provide the best humanitarian assistance possible.