REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- On behalf of the Palestinian people, Rajaa Onim, a Muslim woman from Gaza, provided assistance to victims of the Lebak earthquake. Onim had paid a visit to Lebak as a mark of Muslim solidarity. She extended moral support to Indonesians on behalf of the Palestinian people.

"We are extending our deepest condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Banten and express hope that normalcy would be restored," Onim stated here on Tuesday.

Onim, who is currently in Indonesia, is accompanying her husband Abdillah Onim, an Indonesian humanitarian activist for Palestine. "I donate my money in the form of basic needs to help the earthquake victims in Banten through Yayasan Pusat Budaya Indonesia-Palestine," Onim stated.

The packages of staple food items comprised 100 boxes containing basic necessities, such as rice, eggs, tea, coffee, soy sauce, cooking oil, and instant noodles.

Accompanied by her one-month-old baby and her Palestinian sibling Mutasem, she traveled seven hours from Jakarta on Wednesday to the disaster site in Pasir Kanyere Village, Bayan Sub-district, Lebak District, Banten Province, to symbolically hand out the assistance directly to those whose homes were destroyed by earthquake.

Although it rained at the location, Onim expressed enthusiasm in distributing the staple food items to the victims. In addition, Onim observed the damaged houses at the disaster site.

Onim's presence drew the attention of the local community and officers, as Palestinians were concerned about Indonesian people who became victims of the Lebak earthquake.

While meeting the refugees still living in tents, Onim remarked that the aid was a modest offering from Palestinians. "Palestinian Muslims actually want to visit refugees in Banten, as relations between Indonesia and Palestine have been very close and friendly," she stated.

However, they cannot visit Indonesia, as Palestine is still occupied by Israel. "The Gaza strip is still blocked by Israel. People who live in the Gaza strip cannot go anywhere," she added.

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency on January 23 reported that a 6.4-magnitude earthquake had hit Lebak and some of its neighboring areas, including Jakarta, Purwakarta, Bandung, South Tangerang, and Lampung in Sumatra. The tremors were also felt in Kebumen in Central Java and Bantul in Yogyakarta.

Situated at a depth of 10 kilometers below sea level at 7.21 degrees south latitude and 105.91 degrees east longitude, the earthquake struck for some two minutes, starting at 1:34 p.m. local time.

The epicenter was located in the sea, some 81 kilometers to the southwest of Lebak, Banten. Meanwhile, a  5.1 magnitude aftershock rocked Lebak regency, Banten on Wednesday (January 24) at 13.31 Western Indonesia Standard Time.

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