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Indonesia condemns Israel for Gaza hospital strike
Indonesia urges the international community, especially the United Nations' Security Council, to immediately take concrete steps to stop attacks and acts of violence in Gaza following a strike on a hospital in the war-torn area.
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People inspect the remnants of the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 18, 2023, where hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast that Israeli and Palestinian officials have blamed on each other, and where Palestinians who fled their homes were sheltering amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. (Reuters/Ahmed Zakot)
T
he Indonesian government has strongly condemned the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds on Tuesday evening local time, saying that it was caused by an Israeli air strike.
“The attack clearly violates the international humanitarian law,” the Foreign Ministry said in an official statement on Wednesday.
“Indonesia urges the international community, especially the United Nations’ Security Council [UNSC], to immediately take concrete steps to stop attacks and acts of violence in Gaza amid the high casualty among the civilians,” the ministry continued.
A massive explosion occurred at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night local time, killing at least 200 people. The number of casualties reported is still not conclusive, with a statement from the Palestinian Health Ministry claiming that up to 500 people were killed in the blast.
Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli air strike for the fireball that engulfed the hospital. But Israel denied the responsibility, claiming that the explosion came from a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which also denied the blame.
The strike has sparked global ire, with protesters taking to the streets of Amman, Tunis, Beirut and Tehran chanting support for the residents of Gaza and denouncing the strike they say was carried out by “the Zionist enemy”. Some countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran and Turkey have also blamed Israel for the attack.
On the other hand, some of Israel’s allies, including the United States and the European Union, have seemingly supported Israel’s denial of responsibility.
