NGO: Israeli forces convert an Indonesian hospital into a military installation in Gaza

 NGO: Israeli forces convert an Indonesian hospital into a military installation in Gaza

                                                            Source arabnews.com

JAKARTA: The organization that provided funding for the hospital alleged on Thursday that Israeli forces have converted the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza into a military installation.

Late in 2015, the North Gaza hospital opened thanks to donations from the Indonesian populace.

One of the Israeli military's initial targets in its lethal assault, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 20,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, since early October, was a four-story building close to the Jabalia refugee camp. Over 52,000 people have sustained injuries.

In addition to preventing the entry of fuel and food, Israel has cut off access to potable water in Gaza, forcing over two million inhabitants to flee their homes.

Though its forces have since destroyed more than half of the coastal enclave's housing as well as its civilian infrastructure and medical facilities, Israel has claimed that its daily bombardment and siege of the densely populated territory is in retaliation for the militant group Hamas' attack on October 7.

One of the few hospitals still in functioning was the Indonesian Hospital, but thousands of people seeking sanctuary there were forced to relocate due to Israeli attacks in late November, forcing them to the southern part of Gaza.

The facility was supported by the Indonesian nonprofit Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, or MER-C, whose head, Dr. Sarbini Murad, stated that it had been "turned into barracks or a military base for the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)."

Although the majority of the building's medical equipment has been destroyed by the Israeli military, he informed Arab News that the structure is still intact despite damage.

"We demand that the Indonesia Hospital be abandoned by the IDF so that it can once again serve as a hospital and health facility for people living in the north," stated Murad.

"The Geneva Convention is broken when a hospital is transformed into a combat zone.”

At a news conference conducted by MER-C the day before, Murad stated that the hospital's location was important, providing the IDF with access to the neighboring areas.

Murad said that he thought Israeli forces knew they were protected from Hamas strikes within the hospital, which was supported by Indonesians who have traditionally supported Palestine's independence and stood with it.

The Indonesia Hospital was being used by Hamas, according to the Israeli military, "to hide an underground command and control center," as of early November.

The hospital "is a facility that Indonesians built entirely for a humanitarian purpose and to serve the medical needs of Palestinian people in Gaza," according to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while MER-C swiftly condemned the claim as an attempt to "craft a public lie."

At the time, the MER-C chairman issued a warning, stating that the claims made by the Israeli military might be "a precondition to attack the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza."

   Source arabnews.com