February 9, 2026 | 07:47 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak said the military is readying approximately 8,000 peacekeeping troops to be deployed to conflict areas abroad, such as Gaza, Palestine. But Maruli admitted that the numbers remain an estimate and emphasized that the troops would operate under a brigade.
"[Deploying] a brigade, likely around 5,000 to 8,000 [personnel]. But nothing is set in stone yet. So, the numbers aren't final thus far," said Maruli after a meeting between TNI and the National Police leaders at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday, February 9, 2026.
According to Maruli, the troop deployment is still being coordinated, and the authorized organizer of the peace mission will inform the numbers of soldiers required to the TNI Headquarters. This brief will then be forwarded to the Indonesian Army Headquarters.
"We will prepare the [personnel] then," said Maruli, adding that the Indonesian Army has kicked off the initial preparations, including soldier training, despite the deployment not yet being confirmed. This training focuses on soldier character development and health preparation.
Meanwhile, Maruli underscored that whether the peacekeeping troops will end up in Gaza or other conflict areas like Lebanon is beyond the control of the Indonesian Army. The Army chief of staff directs further queries to the TNI Headquarters. "We are only [tasked with] troop preparation," said Maruli.
The peacekeeping forces' preparation aligns with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's decision to join the Trump-backed Board of Peace. The decision is met with widespread objections.
Prior to joining the peace board, Prabowo previously expressed Indonesia's willingness to deploy 20,000 soldiers to help secure peace in Gaza during his address at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2025.
Prabowo said his statement was not "mere empty words," citing Indonesia's proven commitment to help realize world peace. According to him, Indonesia was one of the United Nations' largest contributors of peacekeeping.
Hendrik Yaputra contributed to the writing of this article.
Read: US Plans to Send International Stabilization Force to Gaza in Early 2026
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