MUI Supports Indonesia's Re-engagement in Gaza Flotilla Mission

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Indonesian Council of Islamic Scholars (MUI) supports the re-engagement of volunteers and activists from Indonesia to join the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) 2026 humanitarian mission. This year’s large-scale international convoy is planned via two routes: sea and land.

It is targeted that more than 10,000 volunteers and activists from over 100 countries will join, bringing thousands of tons of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which is still under Zionist Israeli occupation and genocide.

The Deputy Chairman of the MUI’s Foreign Relations Commission, KH Oke Setiade Affendi, said that representatives from Indonesia must always be present in every mission and activism in defense of the Palestinian people, to liberate them from Zionist Israeli occupation. This includes, he said, the involvement of Indonesian representatives from among activists and volunteers to participate in the major mission to break the Zionist Israeli blockade against the people in the Gaza Strip.

“The Indonesian people must remain loyal to the struggle for the independence of the Palestinian people,” said Oke at the launch of the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 in Jakarta, Thursday (February 26, 2026).

The participation of Indonesian volunteers and activists in the GSF 2026 is under the auspices of the Global Peace Convoy Indonesia (GPCI). GPCI is a consortium of philanthropic institutions in the country, which have been working together in humanitarian missions both domestically and in assisting the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which is still in a dire situation due to the illegal actions of the Zionist Israeli regime, which has imposed a blockade and carried out bombings. There are at least 26 Indonesian philanthropic institutions that have joined GPCI.

The Coordinator of the GPCI Steering Committee, Maimon Herawati, said that the GSF 2026 mission schedule has been changed. Originally, the convoy was scheduled to begin simultaneously on March 29, 2026, but it has been moved to April 12, 2026. “This is because this year’s GSF mission will be larger than the previous year (2025), due to the participation of six international groups,” said Maimon, Thursday (February 26, 2026). She said that this year’s GSF will be carried out via two routes, land and sea, which will be grouped into six main Palestinian activism groups from around the world.

These include Sumud Nusantara, Sumud Maghribi, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and Thousand Maddleen. These four groups will take the sea route, sailing across the Mediterranean Sea to break the blockade of Gaza. The other two groups are the Global March to Gaza and the People’s Flotilla Movement, which will take the land route, crossing many countries to reach a point towards Gaza. Indonesian volunteers and activists are part of the GPCI, which is affiliated with the Sumud Flotilla group. GPCI will divide its participants to participate in this year’s GSF mission via sea and land routes.

“For the sea fleet, it is planned to send at least 100 ships from ports in the Mediterranean, such as from Barcelona (Spain), Tunisia, Italy, and Greece. And the land convoy will move through countries in North Africa and several countries in Asia towards Gaza, bringing humanitarian aid and other support teams,” said Maimon. “This year’s GSF participants will prioritize general volunteers and activists with backgrounds as doctors or health workers, nurses and trauma healing teams, captains, and ship crews, technicians and engineers, journalists, eco-builders, teachers and educators, and legal teams,” Maimon added.

Maimon ensured that the GSF 2026, like the GSF 2025 mission, will uphold the principles of non-violence, civilian independence, transparency and accountability, and adherence to the principles of international law, as well as the motivation of solidarity for an independent nation. Maimon said that GPCI’s participation in this year’s GSF mission has also prepared a schedule for a global campaign in the country. GPCI will start the campaign from March 25, 2025, coinciding with the start of the sea and land convoys. “GPCI will buy a Phinisi ship to transport volunteers and activists from Indonesia,” said Maimon.

Maimon said that the sea convoy in Indonesia will start from Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), towards Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), then to Surabaya in East Java (East Java), then sail to Jakarta, to Bangka Belitung, towards Dumai in Riau, and take the first stage of the international voyage to Port Klang in Malaysia. “At each of the ports visited, the sea convoy team will join the land convoy team, together with the Indonesian people to jointly voice the message ‘Indonesia stands with Palestine’,” said Maimon.

And the land convoy in Indonesia will bring its vehicles to the Port of Dumai, before joining Malaysia and merging with Sumud Nusantara. “This convoy is a promise to act. That the people of Asia will not remain silent when humanitarian values continue to be violated in Palestine. Asia comes with solidarity, demanding justice and freedom for the Palestinian people,” said Maimon. In addition to Indonesia, there are also Malaysia, and the GSF 2026 land convoy is also being carried out in the participating countries of Sumud Nusantara and Sumud Maghribi.

The Sumud Nusantara land convoy will also be held in Pakistan on April 12, 2026, starting from Karachi, Multan, Lahore, to Islamabad before heading to Gaza. From Iran, the land convoy will start on April 17 via Zahedan, Kermansha, Tehran, to Tabriz before heading to Gaza. In Iraq, the land convoy is confirmed to start on April 22, 2022, starting from Baghdad, to Najaf, to Karbala, Erbil, to the border before heading to Gaza. Also from Turkey, the land convoy will start on April 28, 2026, starting from Diyarbakir, to Ankara, to Mersin to the meeting point of the sea convoy before heading to Gaza.

Last year, the Global Sumud Flotilla 2025 humanitarian mission started simultaneously at three docks in Tunisia, Italy, and Greece. Last year’s GSF mission brought about 500 people.