Jakarta. The Foreign Affairs Ministry revealed Friday that only four out of over a hundred Indonesians residing in Israel and Palestine were willing to be evacuated.

Indonesia is currently preparing the evacuation processes for its citizens as the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas rages on. However, the evacuation all comes down to the evacuee’s consent, according to the ministry’s citizen protection director Judha Nugraha. 

Government data shows that there are 143 Indonesians scattered across Palestine-Israel. Ten are in Gaza, which is central to the Israel-Hamas conflict. 

The remaining 133 people reside in areas outside Gaza, including 39 people in the West Bank. As many as 94 Indonesian students are in the Israeli community settlement of Sapir. However, only four out of the said 133 Indonesians outside Gaza wished to be evacuated as they did not find the situation alarming enough to leave the area.

“A majority of our citizens feel that they are still safe even though we have given them updates on the security situation, including how the situation is expected to be volatile,” Judha told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.

“Once again, it is for the citizens to decide [whether to be evacuated or not]. Our job is to inform them of the latest updates and inform them that we are currently preparing the evacuation process,” the diplomat said.

Judha said three of the 10 Indonesians in the war-torn Gaza were volunteers. The others are of two Indonesian families who married locals. They also include children.

“To this day, Israel continues to bombard Gaza. That is why it [the evacuation process] is the most challenging,” Judha said.

The Associated Press on Friday wrote that the war had claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Oct. 7.

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