Judha Nugraha, the ministry’s citizen protection director, said among the 10 Indonesian citizens in Gaza, three were Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) volunteers and the rest were civilians. 

“This is a verified figure. Previously, we included Indonesians who have non-Indonesian families,” he said in a press statement on Wednesday.

Of the 10 Indonesian citizens, only seven civilians will be evacuated, while the three MER-C volunteers decided to remain in Gaza.

“They chose to continue their humanitarian work in Gaza, and we respect that decision,” Judha said.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi added that the ministry continues to coordinate with the Egyptian authorities for the evacuation.

“We have moved our team from Cairo to the Rafah border to prepare for the evacuation. Again, the only way out is from Rafah. On the timing, probably today [Wednesday],” she said. 

“Our team arrived in Rafah at 3.53 p.m. [on Wednesday], now we will see what happens in Gaza,” Retno added.

Meanwhile, Judha added that the ministry had also prepared evacuations for Indonesian citizens in Israel via Amman, Jordan. Only four citizens followed the process, while others evacuated independently with commercial flights.

“As of today, we have recorded 123 Indonesian citizens in Israel, and we stay in contact via a WhatsApp group,” he said.

Israel’s attack on Gaza continues to escalate with the recent airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp on Wednesday. The airstrike reportedly killed at least 100 Palestinians, and many more were injured.  

Although Israel claims to target Hamas, the attacks have killed at least 8,000 civilians in Gaza.

Separately, the Indonesian Military (TNI) is sending two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians. 

“We are preparing two C-130 Hercules aircraft with tail numbers A-1327 and A-1328 from the Indonesian Air Force’s 31st and 32nd Squadrons,” TNI chief spokesman Rear Adm. Julius Widjojono said.

“We also prepare two more Hercules as reserves to support the mission.”  

Additionally, the National Police were chartering a Boeing 737 jetliner from flag carrier Garuda Indonesia to support the mission, Julius added. 

He said currently the foreign ministry was submitting diplomatic notes for visas, overflight clearance, landing permits, ground handling and other technicalities. 

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to see off the mission from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. It is scheduled to arrive in Egypt on Monday.

The mission route includes stops in Aceh, Yangon, New Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia before arriving in El Arish. Egypt.