VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Four Indonesian citizens, recently evacuated from the occupied West Bank and its surroundings, arrived safely in Jakarta on Sunday.

"The evacuation process has begun since October 13. They were brought safely from a safe house in Jerusalem to Amman via the Jordan River Border," the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

As of Sunday, a total of 136 Indonesian citizens remain in the West Bank and its surroundings.

"They chose to stay in their respective locations," the ministry stated in the statement.

The Indonesian Government is making utmost efforts to evacuate 10 Indonesian citizens from Palestine's Gaza Strip which has been under the Israeli occupation forces' intense bombardment since October 7.

The vulnerable security situation in the overcrowded enclave has been forcing the government to take mindful steps and maintain intensive coordination with various parties to enable the citizens to leave the war zone.

Amid further escalation of this Palestinian-Israeli war that has killed more than two thousand people in Gaza, the Indonesian Government recorded no Indonesian casualties

The Israeli occupation forces continue to mount military assaults on the Gaza Strip in response to
Hamas' surprise attack on Oct 7.

Hamas that runs the besieged Gaza Strip commenced Operation Al Aqsa Storm by mounting a spate of rockets at Israel while executing incursions by land, sea, and air.

Hamas explained that the operation was meant as an act of retaliation for the storming and desecrating of the Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, a territory occupied by Israel, as well as the increasing intensity of Israeli settlers' violence towards Palestinians.

In response, the Israeli forces launched Operation Iron Swords that placed Hamas in the Gaza Strip as the target.

Moreover, the Israeli government has also cut off water, fuel, and electricity supplies to Gaza, making the living condition of Palestinians in the small and densely-populated enclave more difficult. Prior to the war, they have also suffered severely from the impacts of tight blockades that Israel has carried out since 2007.

Since the start of the war, at least 2,215 Palestinian civilians, including 724 children, got killed while Israel lost 1,300 citizens. (Antaranews)