Report: First Group of Gaza Migrants Heads to Indonesia Under Israeli-Led Emigration Program

Roughly 100 Palestinians from Gaza will travel to Indonesia for construction work under a new Israeli pilot program, according to Channel 12 News, which reported the initiative as the first stage of a larger plan to facilitate voluntary migration from the Hamas-run enclave.

On Wednesday, Hebrew media revealed that the pilot initiative — coordinated by the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and overseen by Major General Ghassan Alian — is designed to test the feasibility of voluntary Gaza emigration through overseas employment opportunities.

If successful, the program will be transferred to Israel’s newly established Migration Directorate, a unit created within the Defense Ministry by Defense Minister Israel Katz and approved by Israel’s Security Cabinet just days earlier. The Directorate is tasked with organizing “safe and controlled passage” for Gazans seeking to relocate abroad, including logistics for land, air, and sea departures.

According to the report, the 100 workers headed to Indonesia — a Muslim-majority nation with no formal diplomatic ties to Israel — will be employed in the construction sector. Despite the diplomatic gap, cooperation was reached to facilitate the pilot program, marking a quiet milestone in Israel’s regional outreach efforts.

The long-term goal is to enable thousands more Gazans to take advantage of similar employment-based migration opportunities, provided host countries are willing to participate. While international law allows for return migration, Israeli officials have emphasized the aim is to support permanent resettlement elsewhere, alleviating the pressure of Gaza’s humanitarian and security crisis.

“We are working with all means to implement the U.S. president’s vision, and we will allow any Gaza resident who wants to move to a third state to do so,” said Katz, referencing President Donald Trump’s approach to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through regional cooperation and population relocation.

Over 35,000 Gazans have permanently left the Strip since the war resumed.

The initiative comes as hundreds of Gazans were seen marching through Gaza carrying white flags and chanting anti-Hamas slogans according to videos posted from the scene showing participants calling for peace, press coverage, and the release of hostages.

The scenes marked one of the largest and most open protests against Hamas since the start of the war with Israel in October 2023. Historically, Hamas has responded to anti-government protests with swift and often violent crackdowns. The Iran-backed terror group, which seized control of Gaza in 2007, is designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States and the European Union.

This latest protest, however, signals growing desperation among ordinary Gazans, many of whom now appear willing to speak out despite the risks. As one protester questioned, “How can we remain steadfast when we’re dying and bleeding?”

The unrest in Gaza emerges amid deepening instability in the coastal enclave, as Israel intensifies efforts to dismantle Hamas’s leadership following the October 7 massacre — the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history. 

Over the past week, Israeli forces have eliminated multiple senior Hamas officials in rapid succession, exposing fractures within the group’s internal governance and forcing its operatives into survival mode. 

Meanwhile, President Trump’s renewed vision for Gaza entailing voluntary resettlement and economic revival has gained traction, with polls showing more than half of Gazans expressing a desire to leave. 

As Hamas faces internal unrest and mounting public pressure, conditions appear to be emerging that could signal a significant transformation in the region’s trajectory.

Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.