JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the purpose of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza was to “fully” serve Palestinians in response to an accusation by the Israeli military that it has been used by Hamas to launch attacks.
Israeli military’s has said that Hamas “systematically exploits hospitals as part of its war machine” as it exposed a network of tunnels, command centres and rocket launchers beneath and adjacent to hospitals in northern Gaza.
Hamas denies doing so and has accused Israel of spreading lies.
“Indonesia Hospital in Gaza is a facility built by Indonesians fully for humanitarian purposes and to serve the medical needs of Palestinians in Gaza,” said the ministry said in a statement, adding the hospital is run by Palestinian authorities, helped by a few Indonesian volunteers.
The hospital “is currently treating patients in the amount that far exceeds its capacity”, the ministry added.
Sarbini Abdul Murad, the chairman of MER-C, a voluntary group which funded the Indonesia hospital, told Reuters on Tuesday the hospital had run out of fuel, and had “collapsed”.
On Monday, Sarbini denied Israel’s accusations, adding that it was a “precondition so that they can attack the Indonesian hospital in Gaza”.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, has called for an immediate ceasefire and has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza said more than 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the war since Hamas launched a cross-border assault on Oct.7, killing 1,400 people and seizing more than 240 hostages.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; editing by Miral Fahmy)
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