As President Prabowo Subianto steps onto one of the world’s most visible diplomatic stages in Saudi Arabia, a moral reckoning awaits him.
The recent Israeli bombing of the Indonesian Hospital (RS Indonesia) in northern Gaza, killing Dr Marwan Al-Sultan, the hospital’s director, along with his entire family, demands not only grief but bold condemnation. It was not just another attack in a long and brutal war; it was a direct, targeted erasure of a symbol of Indonesia’s humanitarian presence and solidarity with the Palestinian people.
To remain silent in the face of such horror is not diplomacy. It is abdication.
For decades, Indonesia has stood at the forefront of the Global South’s conscience. It has opposed apartheid in South Africa, demanded nuclear disarmament, and supported decolonization in Africa and Asia. On Palestine, Indonesia’s stance has always been principled: consistent with its constitutional mandate to oppose colonialism “in all its forms.” The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, built in 2016 with funds from Indonesian citizens and NGOs like MER-C, symbolized that commitment not just rhetorically, but materially.
That symbol has now been bombed to the ground, its leadership wiped out.
According to verified reports, on June 30, 2025, Israeli fighter jets struck the vicinity of the hospital without prior evacuation warnings, ignoring the principles of medical neutrality enshrined in the Geneva Conventions. The World Health Organization has repeatedly condemned Israel’s ongoing assaults on healthcare infrastructure in Gaza, noting that over 450 attacks on medical facilities and personnel have occurred since October 2023. The killing of Dr Marwan Al-Sultan and his family is part of this wider pattern. But this one carries Indonesia’s name. This one was personal.
In this moment, President Prabowo must speak, not only for international law, not only for the Palestinians, but for Indonesia.
His silence so far has raised questions about where Indonesia stands under his leadership. Will this new administration walk the path of global justice carved by its predecessors? Or will it retreat into non-committal language and realpolitik hedging, careful not to offend certain powers?
It is worth remembering that Prabowo, just weeks ago, stood before the D7 Humanitarian Dialogue in Egypt and reaffirmed Indonesia’s unwavering support for Palestine. He quoted the Qur’an. He evoked Indonesia’s anti-colonial soul. He made headlines across Arab and African media as a voice of conscience from Southeast Asia. But as Jakarta’s humanitarian emblem in Gaza burns, and its leadership is turned into ashes, will the President remain a man of words. Or will he act?
At the very least, a strong, heartfelt statement of condolence and outrage is owed to Dr Al-Sultan and the thousands of Indonesians who built that hospital brick by brick with donations and prayers. To avoid even such a statement risks portraying Prabowo not as a strongman president, but as a cold technocrat indifferent to the moral weight of leadership.
Worse, it risks signaling that under this administration, Indonesia will trade its conscience for neutrality and its moral voice for geopolitical caution.
But Indonesia is not powerless. Quite the opposite.
Situated at the maritime crossroads of the Indo-Pacific, Indonesia holds significant leverage that has never been fully exercised. The Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ALKI), particularly ALKI 1, which passes through the Strait of Malacca, are among the world’s most strategic shipping routes. Over 100,000 ships pass through these lanes each year, carrying over 40% of global trade, including oil, natural gas, and military equipment.
What if Indonesia, in response to this act of humanitarian violence, temporarily exercised its maritime sovereignty by barring passage through ALKI 1 to vessels linked to Israeli commerce? Such a move, while dramatic, would not constitute an act of war. It would be a symbolic assertion of protest, a modern form of gunboat diplomacy not with warships, but with maritime law and national will.
Yes, the world would criticize it. But the world is already complicit in silence.
Consider this: Iran has fired missiles in defense of its allies. Turkey has expelled ambassadors. Even Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with Israel. By contrast, Indonesia, whose hospital was bombed and whose citizens mourn, has so far merely whispered.
This essay does not advocate war, nor does it suggest reckless brinkmanship. But it does insist that Indonesia must reclaim dignity, not just in words but in action. A maritime gesture, no matter how brief or symbolic, would show that Indonesia is not simply issuing press statements, but is willing to bear diplomatic consequences in defense of what it believes.
Would this impact Israeli supply lines directly? Perhaps not significantly. But it would shake the international system into realizing that global South nations are not mere spectators in a world order defined by Western impunity. It would say to Washington, to Tel Aviv, and to Riyadh: Indonesia is not to be ignored when its name, its symbols, and its people are attacked.
President Prabowo, a former general, often speaks of honor, dignity, and sovereignty. This is his chance to embody those ideals, not through force, but through moral leadership. A clear, compassionate, and principled response would show the world that Indonesia still stands where it always has: on the side of the oppressed, the voiceless, and the violated.
He must say the name Marwan Al-Sultan. He must grieve the lives lost. He must call what happened at RS Indonesia in Gaza what it is: a war crime. And if necessary, he must make the ships slow down at ALKI 1, even if just for a moment—just long enough for the world to ask why.
Because silence, in this moment, is not neutrality. It is complicity.
And Indonesia, under Prabowo’s leadership, must choose where it stands.
Tommy Tamtomo is the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Indonesia Cyber Security Forum (ICSF). This article is written in response to—and in support of—the op-ed “From Bandung to Tehran: Indonesia Has a Role to Play” by Nasir Tamara and Abdul Khalik, published in The Jakarta Post on July 3, 2025 (https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2025/07/03/from-bandung-to-tehran-indonesia-has-a-role-to-play.html).
