Tempo journalist Andre Prasetyo Nugroho went missing after losing\ncontact in waters near Gaza, where the humanitarian vessel Ozgurluk,\ncarrying aid as part of the Global Freedom Flotilla 2026, was\nintercepted by the Israeli military on Monday, 18 April 2026. The\nOzgurluk is part of a convoy bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza to break\nits blockade.<\/p>\n
The last communication was recorded on Sunday night around 22:42 WIB,\nwith Andre reporting that his position was entering the red zone. \u201cLast\nnight he sent his coordinates, but I cannot calculate how far he was\nfrom his destination on the Gaza Front,\u201d producer Dheayu Jihan told\nTempo on Monday, 18 May 2026. The phone number remained active until\nabout 14:00 WIB Monday. The editors in Jakarta attempted to send text\nmessages to monitor his condition. The message was delivered with a\ndouble-check mark but received no response. The next message, sent at\n14:30 WIB, showed only a single check.<\/p>\n
According to Jihan, there has been no information about Andre\u2019s\nwhereabouts since then until the Tempo newsroom was informed by Global\nPeace Convoy Indonesia (GPCI) at 21:15 WIB. \u201cGPCI reported that the\nvessel carrying Andre was intercepted by the Israeli military along with\n24 other ships in the convoy when they were about 250 nautical miles\nfrom Gaza,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Further, Jihan explained that Andre\u2019s assignment to cover the Gaza\nhumanitarian mission began on 29 April 2026. He first flew from Jakarta\nto Istanbul, Turkey. From Istanbul, he then undertook a 12-hour overland\njourney to the port of Marmaris. At the port, departure of the vessel\nwas delayed several times due to security concerns and the strict\nscreening of volunteers.<\/p>\n
During the process, Andre initially faced the risk of not being\nincluded on the list of volunteers who would sail to Gaza. However,\nafter lengthy negotiations, he managed to secure a seat to sail aboard\nthe Ozgurluk. He sailed on the vessel with two Indonesian journalists\nfrom Republika and Inews, Thoudy Badai Rifan Billah and Rahendro\nherubowo. The ship was reported to have begun sailing on Thursday, 12\nMay 2026, in the local afternoon.<\/p>\n
On the sixth day of the voyage, Jihan said, tensions aboard rose as\nthey approached the red zone of Gaza\u2019s waters. On Saturday, 16 May 2026,\ntwo nights before the interception incident, Andre informed the Tempo\nteam in Jakarta that the ship had entered an emergency interception\nprotocol intended to anticipate a potential assault.<\/p>\n
Global Peace Convoy Indonesia (GPCI) coordinator Maimon Herawati said\na total of 450 volunteers were involved in the humanitarian mission. Of\nthese, nine were Indonesian citizens from various humanitarian groups\nincluding Dompet Dhuafa, Rumah Zakat, Spirit of Aqsa, SMART 171, and\njournalists from Republika, Inews, and Tempo.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli\nmilitary\u2019s interception of the international humanitarian mission Global\nSumud Flotilla (GSF) and urged Israel to immediately release all ships\nand crew detained. \u201cWe will continue to maintain communication with\nrelevant parties to obtain the latest information on the condition of\nthe Indonesian nationals, while preparing contingency measures,\nincluding facilitation of protection and acceleration of repatriation if\nnecessary,\u201d Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang told Tempo\non Monday evening, 18 May 2026.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/moments-when-a-tempo-journalist-went-missing-during-the-gsf-mission-1779546439", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }