Tomorrow The TNI-Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Holds A Meeting On Plans To Evacuate Indonesian Citizens From Lebanon

JAKARTA - The TNI Headquarters and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemenlu) as well as other relevant institutions have scheduled a meeting to discuss the current situation in Lebanon and the planned evacuation of Indonesian citizens on Thursday (26/9).

The TNI has not been able to provide information regarding the preparation of defense equipment and troops to support the Indonesian citizen evacuation plan because it is still waiting for the results of the meeting.

"The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made an invitation letter to the TNI Headquarters in order to develop the situation at UNIFIL (BP Peace Force in Lebanon) on September 26, 2024. We are waiting for the results of the meeting with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the coordination of future steps to be carried out," said the Head of the Indonesian Armed Forces Information Center (Kapuspen) Major General TNI Hariyanto as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, September 25.

The Israeli military (IDF) has attacked Lebanese territory since the start of this week on the pretext of targeting the Hezbollah group. As a result of the attack, authorities in Lebanon said nearly 570 people were killed, more than 1,800 civilians were injured, and tens of thousands of residents were displaced.

Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have occurred since Israel attacked Palestine after the 7 October 2023 incident. The tension extends to the Israel-Lebanon border, including the Blue Line (demarcation line separating Israeli and Lebanese territory).

Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and Indonesian Legal Entities (BHI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Judha Nugraha said the Indonesian Embassy Beirut had established Alert 1 status for Indonesian citizens throughout Lebanese territory. The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also issued a recommendation (travel administration) asking Indonesian citizens (WNI) to postpone travel to Lebanon and Israel.

The Indonesian Embassy in Beirut noted that there were 159 Indonesian citizens in Lebanon. Since the stipulation of Alert 1 in August 2024, the Indonesian Embassy has facilitated the return of 25 Indonesian citizens from Lebanon to Indonesia.

Outside of the 159 Indonesian citizens, there are also TNI soldiers who are members of UNIFIL in Lebanon.

There are more than 1,000 soldiers on duty in various UNIFIL units.

Most of the TNI soldiers who are members of UNIFIL operate on land, while the MTF Task Force carries out its duties at sea.

Regarding the escalation between Israel and Lebanon, the TNI MTF Task Force of the Garuda Contingent XXVIII-O/UNIFIL on Tuesday (10/9) held exercises for emergency situations, which included simulations of evacuation using sea routes.

Some of the training materials that were attended by the KRI Diponegoro-365 comedians in Lebanon also included base defense, underwater anti-sabotage, embarcation/debaration, and force protection.