Indonesia strongly condemns the total blockade and attacks by Israeli forces, including on Indonesian hospitals, that have caused severe hunger and the deaths of countless Palestinian civilians in Northern Gaza.
“The attacks targeting healthcare facilities and workers in Northern Gaza, including the Indonesian Hospital, are clear violations of international law, international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights,” the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said in its X account as quoted on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.
Indonesia warns that hospitals, healthcare workers, and all patients receiving care must be protected under all circumstances, without exception.
“Indonesia demands that Israel immediately stop its attacks across all of Gaza, particularly Northern Gaza, and urges the UN Security Council to take decisive action to end the war without delay,” the statement said.
As reported by The National, Israeli forces on Monday set fire to the Indonesian Hospital, one of the only three partially functional hospitals in the area, the enclave’s health ministry said, after witnesses reported the Israeli army had also burnt down buildings where thousands of people had been taking shelter.
The hospital in Beit Lahia, north of Jabalia, was “directly targeted”, the ministry said, while adding that its generators were bombed which cut off electricity and caused “patients to die after being disconnected from oxygen devices”. With severe restrictions on their movements, hospital staff are having to bury the dead inside the medical complex, which remains under siege.
“Even the option of prioritizing the wounded is no longer available, as many of the injured were left to bleed to death yesterday due to the number of casualties,” the ministry said.
Yousri Qarmout, 37, told The National that Israeli forces set fire to buildings in Beit Lahia in which people were sheltering, “The occupation hasn’t stopped using the tactics of burning and demolition throughout this operation. Every day, we see plumes of smoke rising everywhere.
“Yesterday, the Israeli army set fire to many buildings around the Indonesian Hospital, a well-known area with many shelters. The fires hasn’t stopped and the smoke reached most parts of northern Gaza, while the sounds of explosions continue without a break.”
