Indonesia plans to convert a medical facility on its currently uninhabited Galang Island to treat about 2,000 wounded Gaza residents, who will return home once recovered, a presidential spokesperson announced Thursday.
As a Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia has actively sent humanitarian aid to Gaza following Israel’s October 2023 offensive, which Gaza health officials say has claimed more than 60,000 Palestinian lives, including fighters and civilians.
“Indonesia will provide medical care for approximately 2,000 Gaza residents injured or trapped under debris due to the war,” spokesperson Hasan Nasbi told reporters, emphasizing that this is a medical aid mission, not an evacuation.
Indonesia plans to allocate the facility on Galang Island, off its Sumatra coast and south of Singapore, to treat wounded Gaza residents and temporarily shelter their families, he said, adding that no one currently lives nearby.
The patients would be taken back to Gaza after they have healed, he said.