GAZA STRIP: Gaza health authorities accused Israeli forces of attacking the Indonesian Hospital in the northern town of Beit Lahia early Saturday, escalating concerns over the safety of civilians and medical staff amid the ongoing Israeli attacks in northern Gaza.
According to Marwan Sultan, director of the hospital, Israeli tanks completely surrounded the medical facility at dawn, cutting off electricity and shelling the second and third floors with artillery. “There are serious risks to medical staff and patients,” Sultan said.
Gaza’s health ministry confirmed that more than 40 patients, along with wounded persons and medical personnel, were inside the hospital at the time of the attack. The ministry added that “heavy gunfire” targeted the hospital’s courtyard, causing widespread panic among both patients and staff.
The assault comes amid Israel’s intensified military operations in northern Gaza, launched earlier this month. Nearby, in the Jabalia area, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that an Israeli airstrike the previous night killed at least 33 people, mostly women and children.
The United Nations humanitarian affairs agency on Friday warned about the worsening conditions for civilians in northern Gaza. The agency expressed alarm over the “increasingly dire and dangerous situation” as families struggle to survive amid heavy bombardment, displacement, and lack of access to basic services.
