VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said he has submitted an offer to send a hospital ship to Palestine to help those in need of medical treatment amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Speaking to journalists after receiving a courtesy call from the Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Zuhair Al-Shun here on Monday, Subianto informed that he had discussed the offer more deeply with the ambassador.

He said he had also reported the Defense Ministry's plan to send the hospital ship to President Joko Widodo and coordinated it with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

He disclosed that he will also coordinate the plan to send the hospital ship to Palestine with the Egyptian Ambassador in Jakarta about the detailed delivery procedure for the hospital ship.

Subianto said he had also told Palestine that all Indonesian military hospitals would welcome Palestinians from the besieged Gaza Strip who need medical treatment.

He informed that he has been coordinating with related parties to determine ways to get those in need of medical treatment to Indonesian military hospitals.

Subianto further said that 22 Palestinian cadets have arrived at Indonesia's Defense University to pursue undergraduate programs, including medicine and engineering, for five years.

"We officially receive them on Tuesday evening," he added.

In response to Indonesia's offer, Ambassador Al-Shun thanked the government and the people of Indonesia for their support and assistance for Palestine.

He said he had discussed the latest situation in Palestine and ways to put an immediate end to Israel's brutal killings of Palestinian civilians.

Ambassador Al-Shun also expressed gratitude for Indonesia's offer to send a hospital ship as well as for the opportunity it has given to 22 Palestinian cadets to study at Indonesia's Defense University.

Fresh armed conflict broke out between Palestine and Israel again following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel early in the morning of October 7, 2023.

Prior to the assault by Palestinian liberation fighters, Israel had continued its closure of Gaza crossings.

Palestine's news agency WAFA reported on September 25 that the Israeli closure of Gaza crossings had worsened the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.

According to WAFA, the Palestinians had already suffered from the severe impacts of "more than 17 years of tight Israeli land, sea, and air blockades."

Al Jazeera quoted Hamas, which governs Gaza, as stating that its assault on Israel was "a response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence."

In response to the unprecedented surprise attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and, according to Al Jazeera, pledged that the Israeli forces would "turn all Hamas hideouts into rubble."

The ongoing Israeli campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is home to more than two million people, has resulted in the deaths of several thousand Palestinian civilians and prompted a humanitarian crisis. (Antaranews)