April 12, 2024
JAKARTA – The Indonesian Military (TNI) had successfully air-dropped humanitarian aid for besieged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, TNI commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto said on Wednesday.
“The humanitarian aid was [delivered] using C-130J Super Hercules in Palestinian airspace over Gaza with the low cost low altitude [LCLA] method,” Agus said at a Idul Fitri gathering at Wisma Ahmad Yani in Menteng, Central Jakarta, according to a post on @militer.udara, the official Instagram account of the Indonesian Air Force.
LCLA is an aerial resupply delivery system that involves dropping packages equipped with parachutes from a low altitude of 2,000 feet (609 meters).
The aid had a total weight of “3,200 kilograms of food and medicines, consisting of 20 packages at 160 kg each”, he added.
Humanitarian aid packages for Palestinians are launched into Gaza on April 9, 2024 from an Indonesian Air Force C-130 Super Hercules aircraft. (Courtesy of the Indonesian Air Force/-)
Agus said the TNI had also delivered 900 LCLA parachutes to the Jordanian military for use in additional resupply operations.
The TNI’s humanitarian airdrop on April 9 was special because it was deployed on the eve of Idul Fitri as well as on the 78th anniversary of the Indonesian Air Force’s establishment on that date in 1946.
The Super Hercules transport aircraft took off on Tuesday at 11:36 a.m. local time from King Abdullah II Air Base in Zarqa, Jordan, to the south dropping zone in Gaza. The humanitarian airdrop was deployed at 12:50 p.m. and the aircraft returned to King Abdullah II, where it landed at 1:47 p.m.
The TNI’s Gaza humanitarian airdrop team departed for Indonesia soon after completing its mission and is scheduled to arrive on Thursday at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta.
“Alhamdulillah [Praise be to God], thanks [go] to the cooperation of all parties involved in the collaboration between the Indonesian and Jordanian militaries,” Col. Noto Casnoto, the mission’s task force commander, said in the statement posted to the TNI AU account.
Noto is also commander of the Air Force’s 1st Air Wing at Halim Perdanakusuma.
Read also: Indonesian Air Force to deploy humanitarian airdrop to Gaza
In a separate statement, the Defense Ministry said the humanitarian airdrop was conducted in close cooperation with Jordanian authorities.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo stated on March 8 during a visit to Iswahjudi Air Force Base in Magetan, East Java, that Indonesia was among those countries that were given an opportunity to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto followed up the statement during a phone call with Jordanian King Abdullah II on March 12 to convey the President’s wish to air-drop humanitarian aid directly into Gaza.
King Abdullah II then asked Jordanian Ambassador to Indonesia Sudqi al-Omoush to meet with Prabowo on March 21 to deliver his invitation to Indonesia to take part in the aerial delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Indonesian and Jordanian air forces then coordinated to realize the humanitarian mission.
The TNI’s Gaza relief team, consisting of 27 soldiers, departed Halim Perdanakusuma on March 29 and arrived in Jordan on March 31, flying a route that included stops in Aceh, Myanmar, India and the United Arab Emirates.
The Indonesian Air Force said Indonesia was part of the Solidarity Path Operation delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, which included Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Read also: KRI Radjiman returns home after unloading humanitarian aidPreviously, the TNI sent hospital ship KRI Dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat to transport 242 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the Egyptian port city of El Arish.
The Radjiman Wedyodiningrat sailed under the Egypt Goodwill/Port Call 2024 mission, under which it was only permitted to transport humanitarian aid.
Although Indonesia initially intended to deploy the Radjiman Wedyodiningrat to provide medical treatment to Gaza refugees, given that it had a fully equipped onboard medical facility equivalent to a regional general hospital (RSUD), the Egyptian government refused to allow KRI Radjiman to operate as a hospital ship. (nvn)