August 12, 2025 | 07:32 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Humanitarian activist and chairperson of the Nusantara Palestine Center, Abdillah Onim, urged President Prabowo Subianto to expand the evacuation plan for Gaza refugees to 10,000 people for treatment in Indonesia.
Onim, who is married to a Gaza resident, said many victims of Israeli aggression need urgent medical care, especially children. He noted that in the past 22 months, the conflict has killed more than 61,300 people, including 12,000 children and over 9,000 women.
"If possible, not just 2,000 patients but 10,000, because Indonesia has many specialist hospitals," Onim told Tempo on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
He said he has been in regular contact with colleagues and relatives in Gaza, who strongly support the plan given the high number of child patients. Each patient, he added, would likely be accompanied by one or two caretakers familiar with their condition, particularly if they are housed on Galang Island.
While acknowledging the controversy around the proposal, Onim emphasized the distinction between evacuation and relocation. Evacuation, he explained, is for the wounded, whereas relocation applies to healthy civilians.
“This is solely about bringing war victims here for treatment,” he said.
President Prabowo first unveiled the plan on April 9, 2025, ahead of a state visit to the Middle East, initially targeting 1,000 refugees. He noted that the program would require approval from Arab countries, particularly the Palestinian Authority.
Critics contend the initiative aligns with U.S. and Israeli agendas that favor the permanent relocation of Palestinians.
The plan re-emerged in early August 2025, when Presidential Communication Office Head Hasan Nasbi confirmed Galang Island had been designated as a temporary treatment site.
The island was chosen for its isolation from residential areas and its previous use as both a refugee shelter and a Covid-19 treatment facility.
“From a security and comfort standpoint, the location is highly manageable,” Hasan said during a press conference in Jakarta on August 7, 2025.
Adinda Jasmine contributed to the writing of this article.
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