Condemnation Of Attacks On Hospitals In Gaza, Indonesia Urges UN DK To Take Real Steps

The impact of the Israeli attack on Gaza October 2023. (Wikimedia Commons/Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contact with APAimages)

JAKARTA - Indonesia condemns the attack on a hospital in Gaza, Palestine which reportedly killed hundreds of people, urging the international community, especially the UN Security Council (DK) to take concrete steps.

Palestine and Israel blamed each other for the explosion that occurred at Al-Ahli Al-Arabi Hospital, in which hundreds of people were reportedly killed. In the first hours after the blast, a Gaza civil defense chief said 300 people had died, while a health ministry source put the figure at 500.

"Indonesia strongly condemns Israel's attack on Al Ahly Al Arabi Hospital in Gaza which killed hundreds of civilians," wrote the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a post on the X social media platform, as quoted on Wednesday, October 18.

"The attack clearly violates international humanitarian law," the post continued.

Furthermore, the Indonesian Government also urges that safe corridors for humanitarian access be opened immediately.

"Indonesia also urges the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to immediately take concrete steps to stop attacks and acts of violence in Gaza, which have resulted in many civilian casualties," wrote the foreign ministry.

He added that injustice against the Palestinian people has been going on for a very long time and is still happening.

"It's time for the world to prioritize a just peace for Palestine. The implementation of agreed international parameters can no longer be postponed," stressed the statement.

Previously, the Palestinian Authority Minister of Health, Mai Alkaila, accused Israel of carrying out a "massacre" at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital, when they carried out intensive bombing of Gaza which had entered its 11th day, as reported by Reuters.

1️⃣ Indonesia mengutuk keras serangan Israel terhadap RS Al Ahly Al Arabi di Gaza yang menewaskan ratusan orang warga sipil.

2️⃣ Serangan tersebut jelas melanggar hukum humaniter internasional.

3️⃣ Indonesia mendesak agar koridor aman bagi akses kemanusiaan segera dibuka.

— MoFA Indonesia (@Kemlu_RI) October 18, 2023

1️⃣ Indonesia strongly condemns the Israeli attack on Al Ahly Al Arabi Hospital in Gaza which killed hundreds of civilians.

2️⃣The attack clearly violates international humanitarian law.

3️⃣Indonesia urges that corridors are safe for human access to be opened immediately.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said targeting the hospital was a "terrible massacre of war," adding "Israel has crossed all red lines."

On the other hand, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "group" in Gaza that attacked the hospital was not the Israeli military.

"The whole world should know that those attacking hospitals in Gaza are barbaric terrorists in Gaza, and not the IDF. Those who brutally killed our children also killed their own children," said PM Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesman (IDF) Rear Admiral Danielwihi told reporters the rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group passed through the hospital at the time of the attack, which he said hit the parking lot of the facility.

In a statement to reporters, shoti doubted the death toll of Palestinians in the attack on the hospital, stating there was no direct attack on the facility. He said footage of military drones showed "a attack on the parking lot."

"The IDF did not attack a hospital in Gaza. The hospital was affected by the failure of the rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization", Sayhi said.

He said the military did carry out Israeli air force operations in the area around the time of the explosion at the hospital.

"But the operation used a different type of ammunition that did not match the recording we had (about) the hospital," he argued.

"I don't even know how many people have been attacked here. No one has been able to verify it yet," he continued regarding the death toll.

Another spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus told CNN his party intercepted a conversation in which militants admitted a gunshot error. He said the military would release footage of the conversation.

Separately, Islamic Jihad militant groups denied any rockets involved in the hospital explosion said they had not carried out any activity in or around Gaza City at the time.

Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, denied his group was responsible.

"This is lies and fabrication, completely untrue. The occupation is trying to cover up the terrible crimes and massacres they are committing against civilians," he told Reuters.

It is known that health authorities in Gaza said before Tuesday's incident that at least 3,000 people had been killed in 11 days of Israeli bombardment since Hamas militants rampaged through Israeli cities on October 7, killing more than 1,300 soldiers and civilians.