In Communication With the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Retno Hopes That Rafah's Doors Will Remain Open Today to Continue Efforts to Evacuate Indonesian Citizens

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. (Source: Indonesian/Abi Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has established communication with Egyptian authorities, hoping that the Rafah crossing gate on the Egyptian side will remain open on Friday, when Indonesia plans to resume efforts to evacuate Indonesian citizens from the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, succeeded in evacuating four Indonesian citizens and one Palestinian wife, who are the family of Abdillah Onim or Bang Onim from Gaza to Cairo via Rafah.

However, there are still three Indonesian citizens consisting of a husband, two children along with a Palestinian wife who are still stuck in Gaza.

"Yesterday, on November 2, they arrived at the Rafah gate (Gaza side), but there are still several administrative issues that are being managed and resolved," explained Foreign Minister Retno in a press statement in Jakarta on Friday, November 3.

She further explained that each evacuation effort carried out had a different situation. He said it would take a long time to create an evacuation corridor, with the safety of those being evacuated as a priority.

"Apart from that, the administrative process to be able to leave Gaza is also very strict and involves many key parties in Gaza. So the names must get approval from many parties in Gaza, and we did not experience this in the previous evacuation process. Once again "Each evacuation has its own character," explained Foreign Minister Retno.

Foreign Minister Retno said that her party was using all the networks they had to help with the evacuation process which they planned to try again today. The families of Indonesian citizens who will be evacuated are in southern Gaza.

If evacuation from northern Gaza takes around 40-50 minutes, evacuation from the south normally takes around 20 minutes. However, Foreign Minister Retno said she could not predict the situation on the ground and the time needed under current conditions.

"Our hope is that today, Friday, which in Arab countries is a holiday, the Rafah doors will remain open. I conveyed this hope and request to the Egyptian Foreign Minister last night. I have communicated with the Egyptian Foreign Minister to convey the request, so that the Rafah doors "which in the Egyptian part can be opened this Friday," she said.

Previously, Bang Onim's family who were evacuated from Gaza were reported to have arrived safely in Cairo, after going through a long and difficult evacuation process.

Apart from these two families, there are also three Indonesian MER-C volunteers who live in northern Gaza, around the Indonesian hospital.

"From the start, we have also communicated with the three of them, and from the communication so far they have decided to stay in Gaza. We will continue to communicate with these Indonesian citizens," concluded Foreign Minister Retno.