Indonesian president, Pabowo Subianto, said on Wednesday that his country will offer temporary refuge for evacuated Palestinian doctors and orphaned children by the Israel-Ahamas War in Gaza.
“We are ready to evacuate the injured or traumatized, and the orphans, if they want to be evacuated to Indonesia, and we are ready to send planes to transport them,” said Subianto, and added that he has instructed his foreign minister to discuss evacuation plans with the Palestinian authorities at the same time.
He said that Indonesia is ready to evacuate a first lot of around 1,000 victims, who will stay in the country until they have completely recovered from their injuries and Gaza is safe enough to return. Subianto said the measure was not for permanent resettlement.
Subianto spoke before taking a flight to Abu Dhabi, the first stop on a one -week tour of the Middle East that also includes stops in Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan. He said he would consult about planned evacuations with those countries, some of which have also accepted Palestinians for humanitarian reasons.
He added that other countries have asked Indonesia to increase their role in the search for a resolution to the conflict in Gaza. The most populated Muslim majority nation has been a great defender of the Palestinians.
“This is something complicated; it is not easy, but I think it encourages the Indonesian government to play a more active role,” said Subianto.
