Farid Zanzabil Al Ayubi, a Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) volunteer who previously carried out humanitarian duties at the Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, on Saturday (9/12) at around 19.00 western Indonesian time, was successfully evacuated.
Farid moved to the Gaza section of the Rafah gate accompanied by several volunteers at around seven in the morning. Together with dozens of injured victims and a number of other foreigners who had received evacuation permits from Gaza, Farid left through the Rafah border gate, Egypt.
Farid is one of three MER-C volunteers who, since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, decided to remain in Gaza. The war stopped for several days after the two parties, mediated by the United States (US) and Qatar, agreed to a ceasefire and the release of a number of hostages. More than a hundred Palestinian prisoners were also released from various Israeli prisons. After the end of the ceasefire, war flared up again and made the situation worse. Farid finally asked for evacuation assistance.
Mer-C volunteers in Gaza: Farid (far left), Fikri (far right) and Reza next to him (photo: doc. Farid).
However, two other MER-C volunteers – Fikri Rafiul Haq and Reza Aldilla Kurniawan – decided to remain in Gaza to continue the mission and humanitarian assistance in accordance with the mandate of the Indonesian people when they donated to the construction of the Indonesian Hospital first. Since the hospital was overwhelmed and finally no longer operating, Farid and his two friends were evacuated to the southern part of Gaza. And today the student at the Islamic University of Gaza who has been working at the Indonesian Hospital since February 2019 decided to return to his homeland.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Farid’s evacuation process took a long time and was a very complex process, especially efforts to include his name on the list of those permitted to pass.
“As is known, during the humanitarian pause the Rafah border was not always open for outflow because priority was given to the inflow of humanitarian aid,” he said.
Farid is safely at the Rafah border, in Egyptian territory with the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo evacuation team and will soon be returned to Indonesia.
Retno further said that there were still two Indonesian citizens who were MER-C volunteers and chose to remain in Gaza. Both are healthy, safe and living at a school near a European hospital. Indonesia, added Retno, will continue to communicate and monitor their situation.
Fikri Still Wants to Return to Gaza
Fikri Rofiul Haq, one of the MER-C volunteers who decided to stay in Gaza, said that even though he was “scared” by the conditions that were happening, he still had a strong desire in his heart to continue to be able to help the people of Gaza. This is what ultimately makes him stay strong and survive.
“Motivate ourselves, see the condition of the children, we chat with the children so we can’t bear to see it. Chat with people (residents), because people were here when they thought we were all evacuated. “When you go home, who will give you food? There are no other NGOs, they say that,” said Fikri to VOA.
Indonesian student volunteers from MER-C in the Gaza Strip prepared 1000 Iftar packages and 1000 basic necessities to be donated to Gaza residents. (MER-C doc)
He said that since he and two colleagues were evacuated from the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza to Khan Younis, South Gaza, on November 22 2023, they had had “deliberations” regarding evacuation to Indonesia. In the end, only Farid decided to evacuate.
“On November 23, we immediately conveyed it, we coordinated with the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the MER-C center as well, we conveyed that two people would remain and one person asked for help to be evacuated. “So from November 23 2023 until yesterday (December 9) the name just came out, so the wait for the name was really long,” said Fikri.
Palestinian Ministry of Health: Casualties Continue to Increase
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, an area controlled by the Hamas militant group, said that as of Sunday (10/12) at least 17,400 Palestinians had died, and 48,000 others were injured. Meanwhile, on the Israeli side, at least 1,200 people died as a result of Hamas attacks.
“Thank God, we were able to get food ingredients during the show break. Every day we also have local staff who, every day despite this onslaught, still go to the market despite what they are. “So basically we make lunch because in the morning it’s hard for them to find food, so we provide lunch for them,” he said.
Before Fikri, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also succeeded in evacuating two families of Indonesian citizens, namely the families of Abdillah Onim and Muhammad Husein. Their evacuation also experienced difficulties.
A US veto at the United Nations Security Council ensures the war in Gaza continues. (fw/em)