REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called for the evacuation of Indonesian citizens (WNI) who are in Lebanon to be carried out immediately. The head of state reiterated that the protection and safety of WNI residing in Lebanon should be a priority.

The President, after reviewing the Regional General Hospital (RSUD) Kefamenanu, North Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday (2/10/2024), stated that he had ordered Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on the evacuation process of the WNI.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister, I have ordered to follow up on what I have said so that the safety and protection of our citizens is consolidated and the evacuation is immediate,” the President said based on a voice recording received in Jakarta on Wednesday (2/10/2024).

Indonesia through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) urged all parties to exercise restraint in relation to the latest extremely worrying situation that is taking place in the Middle East. The statement comes after Israel carried out a ground incursion into Lebanon on Tuesday (1/10/2024) and Iran launched hundreds of missiles at Israel on the same day.

According to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson II Rolliansyah Soemirat in Jakarta on Wednesday, Indonesia stressed the importance of the United Nations Security Council (UN) to hold a special meeting. The move is needed to address the latest developments in the Middle East and take decisions that could lower tensions in the region.

“Indonesia is very concerned that a potential war on a larger scale could occur,” Rolliansyah said in a brief message.

Earlier, on Tuesday (1/10/2024) morning, Israel carried out a ground incursion into Lebanon after carrying out massive airstrikes since September 23, 2024 that killed about a thousand people and wounded more than 2,700 others.

On the same day, Iran also launched hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel in retaliation for the deaths of Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, the political leader of the Palestinian struggle group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh as well as senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Abbas Nilforoushan.