Evacuation of patients and civilians seeking refuge at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza City is underway as Israeli ground forces surround the complex.
#BREAKING The Indonesian Hospital begins to evacuate pic.twitter.com/H2sIcDTxgH
— Gaza Report – ????? ??? (@gaza_report) November 20, 2023
The evacuation comes amid an anticipated assault by the IDF on the hospital, which the IDF has claimed sits on top of a Hamas command center and tunnel network, stating that “Hamas systematically built the Indonesian Hospital to disguise its underground terror infrastructure.”
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry has denied the accusation, stating that the hospital “is a facility built by the Indonesian people entirely for humanitarian purposes and to serve the medical needs of the Palestinian people in Gaza.” The hospital was opened in 2015 and was constructed using charity funds provided by Indonesia’s Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C).
?200 Injured Moved?
200 injured Palestinians just arrived at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Yunis coming from the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. A wounded person has died on the way. 20.11.23
???? 200 ???? ?? ???????? ?????????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ??????… pic.twitter.com/xY2nHqmH4V
— Palestine Now. (@PalestineNW) November 20, 2023
Meanwhile, the Gaza Health ministry claimed that 12 people, including patients, were killed last night when IDF forces opened fire on sections of the hospital, however, the IDF told Reuters that “terrorists opened fire from within the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza toward IDF troops operating outside the hospital…In response, IDF troops directly targeted the specific source of enemy fire.”
OPERATIONAL UPDATE: IDF and ISA forces revealed a significant 55-meter-long terrorist tunnel, 10 meters underneath the Shifa Hospital complex during an intelligence-based operation.
The tunnel entrance contains various defense mechanisms, such as a blast-proof door and a firing… pic.twitter.com/tU4J6BD4ZG
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 19, 2023
This comes amid the seizure of the al-Shifa hospital in western Gaza by the IDF last week. Like the Indonesian Hospital, the IDF accused al-Shifa of having Hamas tunnel systems and command infrastructure under the complex. In recent days, the IDF has released footage showing a tunnel entrance inside the Hospital grounds, however, the tunnel’s full extent remains unknown at this time. The IDF also released photos of Hamas weapons purportedly captured from around and inside the Hospital complex.
