The situation in the only remaining medical facility in the north of the Gaza Strip is “catastrophic,” according to the Ministry of Health.
Israeli tanks have surrounded the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza after artillery fire in the complex killed at least 12 Palestinians, according to the war-torn enclave’s health ministry.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Al Jazeera on Monday that “the situation in the Indonesian hospital is catastrophic,” where hundreds of people remain trapped.
“Indonesian hospital staff insist they stay to treat the wounded. There are about 700 people in the hospital, including medical staff and injured people,” he said.
The Israeli military, which rarely makes troop movements public, had no immediate comment.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa said the facility in the northeast Gaza town of Beit Lahiya was hit by artillery fire. Palestinian health authorities said there were desperate efforts to evacuate civilians from the danger zone.
Hospital staff denied there were armed militants at the site.
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi condemned Israel’s actions and called on Tel Aviv’s partners to “stop its atrocities.”
“The attack is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. “All countries, especially those with close ties to Israel, must use all their influence and capabilities to press Israel to stop its atrocities,” she said in a statement.
The push for the facility, set up in 2016 with funding from Indonesian organizations, came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
They were among more than 250 seriously ill or wounded patients trapped there since Israeli forces entered the site.
The territory’s largest health facility is being evacuated at gunpoint after being besieged by 7,000 people for several days.
The United Nations Humanitarian Aid Agency (OCHA) has reported the “collapse of services” in hospitals across the northern Gaza Strip following widespread airstrikes and shortages of fuel and medical supplies.
The Israeli military claims that Hamas, the group that rules Gaza, has built underground infrastructure beneath hospitals for military use, something Hamas and medical officials deny.
A satellite image shows the damage around the Indonesian hospital [File: Maxar Technologies via AFP]Marwan Abdallah, a medical worker at the Indonesian hospital, said Israeli tanks could be seen from the windows.
“You can see them moving and shooting,” he said. “Women and children are afraid. Explosions and gunshots can be heard constantly.”
Abdallah said the hospital received dozens of dead and wounded from airstrikes and artillery shelling overnight.
According to Israeli authorities, Israel launched its offensive against Gaza after a wave of cross-border raids by Hamas on October 7 killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
The Hamas-led government says the death toll from Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in the Palestinian territory is 13,000, including thousands of children.