Indonesia Delays Deployment of Peacekeeping Forces to Gaza

Indonesia’s State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, announced that the country has postponed its deployment of peacekeeping forces to Gaza, Palestine, citing escalating Middle Eastern conflicts, particularly military tensions between the US-Israel coalition and Iran.

“Everything is on hold, on hold,” Prasetyo told journalists at the Ministry of Defence office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

However, Prasetyo did not elaborate on President Prabowo Subianto’s reasoning for the postponement decision, nor did he specify when the planned deployment would resume.

“Until a timeframe that has not yet been determined,” Prasetyo concluded.

The postponement reverses an earlier announcement by President Prabowo Subianto, who had stated that Indonesian military personnel would be deployed to Gaza within one to two months. Approximately 8,000 Indonesian troops were scheduled to serve alongside the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), a multinational contingent comprising members from nations represented on Gaza’s Board of Peace (BoP).

“Possibly not long, one to two months from now,” President Prabowo had said when responding to journalists’ questions following the inaugural Peace Board Summit in Washington DC on Thursday, 19 February.

Prabowo also mentioned the possibility of deploying an advance team to Gaza ahead of the main force. This advance contingent would be modest in size, tasked primarily with mapping the territory and analysing operational risks ahead of the TNI deployment with the ISF.

Additionally, Prabowo reiterated that Indonesia had been entrusted with the position of Deputy Commander of the ISF.

“They asked us to serve as deputy commander,” President Prabowo stated.

As a result, the President emphasised that Indonesia would appoint its most capable officers to represent the nation in the Deputy Commander role.

“Yes, it will be selected, we will seek out the best,” President Prabowo said.