Humanitarian aid being airdropped from a Jordanian military aircraft over the Gaza Strip amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. - AFP
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) cooperated with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) to directly airdrop aid from the Indonesian people in Gaza, Palestine, on Tuesday (April 9), reported Antara news agency.
Head of the public relations bureau at the Indonesian Ministry of Defence, Military Brigadier General Edwin Adrian Sumantha, said when contacted here on Tuesday that 20 packages of aid comprising food, mineral water, and medicines were airdropped in the operation.
The aid packages, weighing 160 kilogrammes each, were transported by the TNI AU's C-130 J Super Hercules aircraft from King Abdullah II Air Base in Zarqa, Jordan, to the drop-off point in the southern part of Gaza.
The aid was airdropped using the low-cost low altitude (LCLA) method at 12.50pm local time. The aircraft departed from King Abdullah II Air Base at 11:36 am local time and arrived back at the air base at 1.47pm local time.
"I'd like to express gratitude for the cooperation of all parties involved in the good collaboration between TNI and Jordanian Air Force," commander of the aid delivery mission task force, Noto Casnoto, said in a press release issued by the Indonesian Ministry of Defence.
The directive to send aid directly to Gaza was first conveyed by Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo on March 8, 2024.
Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto followed up on the directive by contacting Jordanian King Abdullah II over the phone.
The King then appointed the Jordanian Ambassador to Indonesia, Sudqi Al Omoush, to meet Prabowo at his office and invite him to participate in the operation to drop humanitarian aid to Gaza via air.
The TNI AU's aid delivery mission task force left the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, Jakarta, on March 29.
So far, Indonesia is the second South-East Asian country to drop aid directly to Gaza after Singapore. - Bernama/Antara
