"Our diplomacy often goes with peace and humanitarian diplomacy," she said after accompanying President Joko Widodo to oversee the dispatch of aid packages at Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta.
The aid, comprising medical equipment and medicines worth Rp30 billion (US$1 = Rp15,928.90), was scheduled to be transported by two Garuda Indonesia planes on Thursday.
The aid for Sudan aims to assist those suffering from the impact of the power struggle between the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that broke out in 2023.
Meanwhile, the aid package for Palestine will be flown to Cairo and used to help Palestinian refugees in Egypt, Marsudi informed, adding that the aid will be received by the receiving countries' health ministers.
She said that Indonesia has been contributing humanitarian aid according to its capacity to countries where wars or natural disasters have triggered a humanitarian emergency.
Regarding aid deliveries to Palestine, she said that Indonesia has sent aid several times. Its last humanitarian aid package was airdropped into the Gaza Strip last week.
The government's collaboration with the National Alms Agency (Baznas) has also resulted in airdrops of food and medicine packages, she informed.
In addition to airdrops, Indonesia earlier transported aid for Palestinians in Gaza through the Egypt-controlled Rafah crossing.
More than 4,400 tons of aid packages from Indonesia were delivered by trucks to Gaza, and the government continued to monitor their deliveries to ensure that the Palestinians in need receive them, she added.
On Monday, April 1, 2024, speaking on the sidelines of an iftar (breaking of the fast) gathering at the Indonesian parliament building here, Marsudi said that Indonesia is continuing to find "whatever ways" it can to get aid packages delivered to Palestinians.
The aid deliveries to Gaza remain hampered by Israel. Despite the tense situation, the Indonesian government is continuing to find ways to have the aid packages delivered and received by those in dire need of help, she said.
The Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip erupted following a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel early in the morning of October 7, 2023.
Since then, according to Al Jazeera, the Israeli aggression has killed more than 32,782 Palestinian civilians and wounded at least 75,298 others.
Related news: Baznas distributes clean water to Palestinians in Gaza's Rafah
Related news: Indonesia sends Rp30 billion in aid to Palestine, Sudan
Translator: Yashinta DP, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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