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- Indonesian hospital in Gaza damaged in overnight explosion, Indonesian Foreign Ministry
- Indonesia “condemns the cruel attacks on civilians and civilian objects, especially humanitarian facilities in Gaza”
GAZA/WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Portal) – Gaza officials said Israel launched airstrikes on or near at least three hospitals on Friday, further endangering a health system devastated by Israel’s war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave was overloaded with thousands of victims and displaced people.
“The Israeli occupation has launched simultaneous attacks on a number of hospitals in the last few hours,” Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra told Al Jazeera television.
Qidra said Israel attacked the courtyard of Al Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza City, and there were casualties, but he gave no details. Israel said Hamas had hidden command centers and tunnels under Al Shifa, a claim Hamas denies.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Qidra’s statement, which Portal could not independently verify.
Israel’s months-long military campaign to destroy Hamas after the militants’ attack on southern Israel on October 7 has left hospitals in the Gaza Strip struggling to cope, with medical supplies, clean water and fuel for power generators running low .
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 18 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals and 40 other health centers were out of service due to bombing damage or fuel shortages.
Palestinian media released video footage from Al Shifa on Friday, which Portal could not immediately authenticate, that showed the aftermath of an Israeli attack on a parking lot housing displaced Palestinians who were watching journalists.
A pool of blood could be seen next to the body of a man being placed on a stretcher.
“As strikes and fighting continue near (Al Shifa), we are deeply concerned for the well-being of thousands of civilians there, including many children seeking medical care and shelter,” Human Rights Watch said on social media site X.
Qidra said that Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital and Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital “experienced a series of direct attacks and bombings” on Friday. He said strikes at Al-Rantisi hospital grounds set vehicles on fire, but these were partially extinguished.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Friday that there had been explosions near the Indonesian hospital overnight, damaging parts of the hospital at the northern end of the narrow coastal enclave. It did not say who was responsible for the explosion and no deaths or injuries were reported.
“Indonesia once again condemns the cruel attacks on civilians and civilian objects, especially humanitarian facilities in Gaza,” the ministry said in a statement.
US says Israel agrees to breaks
According to Israel, 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed and about 240 were taken hostage by Hamas in the October 7 raid that triggered the Israeli attack. Israel says it has lost 35 soldiers in Gaza.
Palestinian officials said 10,812 Gazans had been killed by air and artillery strikes as of Thursday, about 40% of them children. A humanitarian disaster ensued as basic supplies such as food and water ran out and civilians were forced from their homes by shelling.
The Israeli military has said it has evidence that Hamas is using Al Shifa and other hospitals such as the Indonesian Hospital to hide command posts and access points to an extensive network of tunnels under Gaza. It says it does not target civilians and that it has allowed some wounded Palestinian civilians to enter Egypt for treatment.
But Israel’s military advance on the center of Gaza City, which brought tanks to within about 1.2 kilometers (3/4 mile) of Al Shifa, has raised questions about how Israel is complying with international laws protecting medical workers, according to local residents centers and the displaced people accommodated there.
Deadly airstrikes on refugee camps, a medical convoy and near hospitals have already sparked heated arguments among some of Israel’s Western allies over its military’s compliance with international law.
US President Joe Biden said in a post on X on Thursday that Israel has a “duty to distinguish between terrorists and civilians and to fully comply with international law.”
The White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to suspend military operations in parts of the northern Gaza Strip for four hours a day, but there were no signs of the fighting easing.
The breaks, which would allow people to escape along two humanitarian corridors and could be used to release hostages, are significant first steps, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the breaks would remain scattered, and there was no official confirmation of a plan for recurring breaks.
Asked if there would be a “halt” in fighting, Netanyahu said on Fox News Channel: “No. The fighting against the Hamas enemy, the Hamas terrorists, continues, but in certain places for a certain period of a few hours here or there. “After a few hours, we want to enable the civilians to safely escape the combat zone and do that us too.”
There were no reports of a lull in fighting on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip. Each side reported inflicting heavy casualties on the other in fierce street battles.
Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Maytaal Angel, Emily Rose and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Rami Amichay in Tel Aviv, Matt Spetalnick and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and other Portal bureaus; Writing by Cynthia Osterman; Edited by Grant McCool and Simon Cameron-Moore
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
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