Indonesia Prepares Island Medical Center to Help 2,000 Wounded Gazans
Indonesia is setting up a medical facility on Galang Island to treat around 2,000 injured Palestinians from Gaza, according to a statement made by a presidential spokesperson on Thursday.
Galang Island, located near Sumatra and south of Singapore, is currently uninhabited. The facility there will be used to provide medical care for Gazans wounded in the ongoing conflict. After treatment, patients will return home to Gaza. Their families may also be temporarily housed on the island during recovery.
Hasan Nasbi, spokesperson for the Indonesian president, clarified that this is a humanitarian effort—not an evacuation. “Indonesia is offering medical treatment to about 2,000 war victims from Gaza, including those injured or trapped under rubble,” he said.
This initiative comes as a response to the humanitarian crisis following Israel’s offensive on Gaza that began in October 2023. According to local health officials, over 60,000 Palestinians, including both civilians and fighters, have died in the conflict.
While no specific timeline was provided, Nasbi said further information would come from Indonesia’s foreign and defense ministries.
The decision follows criticism of a previous proposal by President Prabowo Subianto to host wounded Palestinians in Indonesia, which some religious leaders said resembled a push for permanent resettlement—a suggestion also made by former US President Donald Trump.
At the time, Indonesia’s foreign ministry firmly rejected any attempt to displace Palestinians, emphasizing its support for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
Galang Island has a history of sheltering displaced people. In 2020, a hospital was opened there to treat COVID-19 patients. Before that, the island was home to a large UN refugee camp, which hosted over 250,000 people fleeing the Vietnam War until it closed in 1996.
— Reporting by Naqsh News and other Agencies
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