Indonesia ready to send hospital ship to treat Gaza refugees
"We will coordinate with Egyptian authorities. TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces) is ready to send a hospital ship that will be on standby there to provide more assistance,"
The Indonesian government is willing to send a hospital ship to the waters surrounding Gaza, Palestine, to give medical care to victims of Israeli attacks, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said.
Subianto indicated that the Indonesian government intends to collaborate with nations near the Palestinian Gaza Strip, notably Egypt, in order to get permission to send the hospital ship, Indonesian news agency Antara reports.
"We will coordinate with Egyptian authorities. TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces) is ready to send a hospital ship that will be on standby there to provide more assistance," he remarked when met at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, on Saturday.
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The minister also stated that he assured the Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia, Zuhair Al Shun, that Indonesia is always willing to assist Palestinian war victims.
Earlier, Minister Subianto joined President Joko Widodo to the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base on Saturday for the delivery of Indonesian humanitarian aid at Palestinians in Gaza.
President Widodo told the media at the time that the administration planned to give humanitarian supplies to Palestinians in two groups.
"This is the first shipment of aid to Gaza, consisting of food, medical supplies, blankets, tents, and other logistics." "The aid weighs 51.5 tons and is transported by three planes," he said.
He went on to say that the relief demonstrates the Indonesian people's solidarity and concern for the people of Gaza, who are currently suffering from a humanitarian disaster brought on by Israeli forces.
"The humanitarian tragedy in Gaza is unacceptable and must be put to an end as soon as possible," Widodo said in a statement.
Two Indonesian Air Force C-130 Hercules planes and one National Police (Polri) Boeing 737 plane have been dispatched to deliver humanitarian aid.
The delivery mission has been assigned to 42 flight crew members and two Defense Ministry officials.
The three planes took out from Jakarta and will travel through numerous countries before arriving at El Ashir, Egypt. The aid will be sent to Gaza by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after it is handed over to Egypt's Red Crescent.
