(The Australian, 22/11/2023)
Jakarta has reacted with uncharacteristic fury to the deadly Israeli attack on the Indonesian-funded hospital on Monday, calling it a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia “condemns in the strongest possible terms” the attack that the Indonesian charity behind it says killed at least 12 civilians.
“All countries, especially those with close ties to Israel, must use all their influence and capabilities to urge Israel to end its atrocities,” Ms Retno said from Beijing where she joined an Organisation of Islamic Co-operation delegation pushing for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza charged that Israel’s army killed at least 12 people in a strike on the hospital in northern Gaza, where entire city blocks have been reduced to rubble.
The Indonesian Hospital sits on the fringe of Gaza’s largest refugee camp Jabalia, which has become a new focus for the war and has been the scene of intense Israeli bombing in recent days.
A health ministry official said there still were about 400 patients inside the hospital, as well as 2000 people seeking shelter.
About 200 people were evacuated from the hospital on Monday and bussed to the relative safety of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Indonesia’s Medical Emergency Rescue Committee charity, which built and funds the hospital, expressed shock at the attack, which it said had “ravaged” the building and cut communications with staff on the ground.
A charity spokesman said the Israel Defence Forces tanks had attacked the third and fourth floors of the hospital and were directing gunfire at any movement inside the building.
Charity chairman Sarbini Abdul Murad urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently dispatch food, medicines, and emergency medical aid to the hospital which he said was still “under siege” on Tuesday.
“We ask Israel to respect international conventions and laws by refraining from engaging in battles within the hospital premises,” Sarbini said.
“Hospitals are not battlegrounds; they are healthcare facilities providing assistance to those in need.”
The OIC delegation in Beijing, which includes the foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, will also travel to Moscow, London and Paris to push their case ahead of planned UN Security Council talks on Gaza later this month.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the meeting that the world must “act urgently” to calm the war.
“Let us work together to quickly cool down the situation in Gaza and restore peace in the Middle East as soon as possible,” Mr Wang said. “The situation in Gaza affects all countries around the world, questioning the human sense of right and wrong and humanity’s bottom line.”
China has this year sought to play a greater role in the Middle East, facilitating a historic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran and sending an envoy to the region to push for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The US stopped short of criticising the Chinese diplomatic effort but said that it was its own efforts that have borne fruit.
“We would welcome China to play in a constructive role in the Middle East,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
The World Health Organisation said on Monday that 28 premature babies evacuated from Gaza’s biggest hospital, al-Shifa, had been taken to safety in Egypt through the Rafah border crossing.
“All babies are fighting serious infections and continue needing health care,” the WHO said, while the Israeli army said it had “helped facilitate” the transfer.
Israel, backed by the US, argues that Hamas has used vast tunnel networks below al-Shifa for military purposes.