Jakarta. Indonesia is planning to build a hospital in Gaza City, and this ambitious project will have a price tag of Rp 402 billion or approximately $24.6 million, according to the organizations responsible for the initiative.

Philantropy Maemuna Center Indonesia and the Bogor-based humanitarian organization Aqsa Working Group initiated the project as a means to show solidarity for Palestinians. The project is part of the recently launched nationwide pro-Palestinian fundraising campaign backed by the Indonesian government. This Indonesian Mother and Children Hospital will sit on a 5,000-square-meter land granted by the Palestinian Health Ministry. It will be in close proximity to the Al-Rantisi Children Hospital.

The organizers had already secured the ministry's permit to construct the hospital, and aims to break ground by the end of next month. The initial stage of the construction would likely require Rp 201 billion, early estimates showed. Aqsa Working Group's chair M Anshorullah revealed that the hospital would be entirely funded by Indonesians' donations.

"We need a total of Rp 402 billion for this hospital, and this already includes the necessary medical equipment, not just the building. ... So far, we have raised about 1 percent of the total costs," Anshorullah told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.

Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israeli forces had agreed to pause the war in the Gaza Strip starting in mid-January. This was part of a three-phase ceasefire deal brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt. The first phase included a six-week halt to the fighting and a gradual hostage release. However, the truce already expired on March 1. According to media reports, talks to resume the ceasefire are already underway.

The fragile ceasefire, however, sparked questions on what would happen to the hospital project if the war escalated. Anshorullah claimed that the Indonesian hospital would take around two years to finish without the war, although the construction will adjust to the situation on the ground. The organizers said Indonesian volunteers would make up 75 percent of the workforce involved in the project. The remaining 25 percent will be Gazans.

Indonesia already built a hospital in the northern part of Gaza -- another project that entirely used Indonesian charity funds. This facility is currently under renovation after it got attacked by Israeli forces.

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