Bodies of those killed by Israel still lying outside Indonesian Hospital

Hamas-Israel war

TBS Report
20 November, 2023, 08:40 am
Last modified: 20 November, 2023, 05:41 pm

Israel has continued its deadly strikes on Gaza, targeting several areas in the enclave, including the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital. Meanwhile, Gaza health ministry Director Mounir el-Boursh has dismissed Israel's claim that it had found a Hamas tunnel at the al-Shifa Hospital, describing it as a "pure lie".


Highlights:

  • At least eight people killed following direct Israeli strikes on northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital.
  • Mounir el-Boursh, the Gaza health ministry director, has dismissed Israel's claim that it had found a Hamas tunnel at the al-Shifa Hospital, describing it as a "pure lie".
  • Israel has continued its deadly strikes on Gaza, targeting several areas in the enclave, including the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital. More than 13,000 people have now been killed since the bombardment began on October 7. In Israel, the official death toll in Hamas's attacks stands at about 1,200.
  • The Committee to Protect Journalists has said 48 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the conflict; 43 of those killed were Palestinians, four were Israelis and one was Lebanese.
  • Yemen's Houthi rebels have seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the Red Sea and taken two dozen crew members hostage, raising fears of a wider escalation.
  • The World Health Organization has said it evacuated 31 prematurely born babies from al-Shifa Hospital to the European and Nasser hospitals in the south of Gaza. More than 200 patients are still stuck at the hospital.

5:40pm

Bodies of those killed by Israel still lying outside Indonesian Hospital

More updates on what's happening at the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza.

Munner al-Bursh, general manager of the Health Ministry in Gaza, has told Al Jazeera that:

  • Israeli forces are continuing to attack the hospital.
  • Israeli artillery started in the middle of the night and targeted the surgical department, wounding the doctors working there and killing 12 civilians who were taking refuge.
  • Israeli forces then targeted people who were leaving the hospital by shooting them near the hospital. Their bodies are still lying on the ground, and nobody has been able to bury them.
  • The al-Kuwait UN school was burned down by the Israeli forces. People were taking refuge there, and we don't have any information on the death toll there.
  • In addition to around 700 patients and 5,000 refugees before the attack, there were 10,000 people in the shelter centres around the hospital.
  • We are using a small power generator that runs on vegetable oil, manufactured by some creative individuals who sacrificed some of their food supply to run the generator.

3:22pm

'Israeli forces shooting whoever leaves Indonesian Hospital'

As Israeli tanks continue to surround the Indonesian Hospital, Ismail al-Ghoul, a journalist based in Gaza, has given Al Jazeera these updates from the ground:

  • Israeli forces shoot whoever tries to leave the hospital.
  • The situation in the hospital is catastrophic.
  • The hospital is full of people. There are more than 6,000 people, including staff, patients and those taking shelter.
  • It has been difficult to transfer patients from northern Gaza because Israeli forces are targeting anyone who approaches the area.

2:43pm

More than 100 Gaza evacuees to arrive in Turkey

More than 100 evacuees from Gaza are set to arrive in Turkey on Monday, including dozens of people who will receive medical treatment there, Turkey's health minister and a foreign ministry source said, reports Reuters.

Sixty-one patients, accompanied by some 49 relatives, arrived in Egypt from Gaza on Sunday evening and were scheduled to fly to Ankara on Monday morning after spending the night at Al Arish hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

He said last week that Ankara wanted to bring as many of the nearly 1,000 cancer patients from Gaza to Turkey as possible. The first 27 patients arrived in Ankara last Thursday.

Separately, a group of 87 people, consisting of Turks, Turkish Cypriots and their relatives, arrived in Egypt from Gaza on Sunday and was set to fly to Istanbul on Monday evening, a foreign ministry source said.

Palestinians mourn local journalists Hassouna Sleem and Sary Mansour, who were killed in an Israeli strike on a house, at a hospital in the central Gaza Strip November 19, 2023. File Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

2:14pm

Situation at Indonesian Hospital 'catastrophic'

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the situation at Indonesian Hospital 'catastrophic', reports Al Jazeera. 

Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra has provided Al Jazeera with these updates on the latest developments:

  • We fear Israeli forces will repeat what they did at al-Shifa Hospital.
  • The situation is catastrophic and Israeli forces are only intensifying their attacks.
  • The Indonesian Hospital staff are insisting they will stay to treat the wounded.
  • There are about 700 people, including medical staff and injured people, inside the hospital.

2:09pm

We can't lose sight of abducted children, says Unicef chief

Head of Unicef Catherine Russell said, "We can't lose sight of abducted children". She has been speaking to the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning about her trip to Gaza last week. "The scale and pace of the death and injury has been most shocking", she says, ""One death of a child is too many," reports BBC.

Russel goes on to say: "We are going to have to make it [Gaza] liveable again" adding that it is important not to lose sight of the children who were abducted from Israel by Hamas on 7 October.

"The abduction of children is against international humanitarian law and these children need to be released immediately", Russel says, "and I can't say we have had much progress but I am hopeful at some point these children will be released and be able to return to their families."


1:25pm

'Israel seeks to end Palestinians' presence on their land'

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki says Israel is seeking to "bring to an end the Palestinian people's presence on what remains of its historical land". He made his comment during a summit of diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations in Beijing, reports Al Jazeera..

There, leaders from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are discussing ways to end the fighting in Gaza and raise pressure on Western countries to reject Israel's characterisation of its military campaign in the strip as self-defence.


1:15pm

Israel receives new armored ambulances amid Gaza war

Dozens of ambulances that were built and armored in the US were purchased in an emergency procurement for the war, reports the Jerusalem Post.

Israel received its first shipment of new armored ambulances at Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday, according to Walla.

The ambulances were purchased in an emergency procurement conducted by the Defense Ministry's Mission to the US due to the war with Hamas in Gaza.

The shipment included dozens of ambulances that were built and armored in the US on the basis of the Toyota Landcruiser 78, which isn't sold in Europe anymore as it doesn't meet the Euro 6 emission standards.

According to Alpine Armoring's website, the ambulances are bulletproof and protected against 7.62mm lead core, 5.56x45 and M80 ball rounds, as well as 2 DM51 hand grenades. The windows are made from multi-layered ballistic glass and the vehicle also has anti-mine protection.

The ambulances were flown to Israel by the Interdel Logistics company from the Allalouf Group. Last month, Interdel Logistics facilitated a shipment of 17 new ambulances for Magen David Adom (MDA).


12:55pm

Four more killed in Israeli attacks on Indonesian Hospital

The death toll from Israeli attacks on Indonesian Hospital in Gaza has gone up from eight to 12, according to health ministry officials in the enclave.

Al Jazeera earlier that those killed included doctors and patients.

The update comes as Israeli tanks continue to surround the hospital.


12:35pm

Israeli tanks getting closer to Indonesian Hospital

The main operation room inside the Indonesian Hospital has been damaged and is no longer available for surgeries, a source inside the hospital has told a reporter of Al Jazeera..

A number of people, including doctors and patients, have been killed and injured as a result of the latest Israeli attacks that have been hitting the hospital since early morning.

Israeli tank shells also hit the nearby Kuwaiti school where hundreds of families have been sheltering.


10:55am

Young Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces near Hebron

Wafa has identified the 21-year-old man as Muhammad Adel Muhammad Al-Sarahin from the town of Beit Ula, northwest of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Wafa said that Sarahin was driving his vehicle near the Arroub refugee camp north of Hebron when Israeli forces opened fire at him and a companion, reports Al-Jazeera.


10:10am

France's Macron pledges more medical supplies, hospital ship for Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will send more medical supplies and a second hospital ship to Gaza.

France will send an aeroplane with more than 10 tonnes of medical supplies this week as well as contributing to EU-operated medical aid flights on Thursday and November 30, Macron's office said in a statement on Sunday.

The French helicopter carrier Dixmude, which has 40 beds, will arrive in Egypt in the coming days, following the earlier deployment of the Tonnerre, the presidential office said.


10am

Qatar PM says only 'minor' challenges remain to captive deal

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said that only "minor" challenges remain to a deal to release some of the more than 200 people taken captive into Gaza after Hamas's attack on Israel last month.

"The challenges that remain in the negotiations are very minor compared to the bigger challenges. They are more logistical; they are more practical," Sheikh Mohammed told a joint press conference with the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.


9:30am

Israeli military says detained 38 Palestinians in West Bank raid

In a statement posted on its website, the Israeli army said that its forces also confiscated weapons and shut down what it described as production laboratories for explosives.

Israel said operations targeted refugee camps in Nablus and Jenin, reports Al-Jazeera.

During the operation, the Israeli military claimed that it "uncovered" ready-to-use explosives and searched for weapons, among them,  M16 rifles, as well as cartridges and other weapons parts.


9:10am

UN human rights expert decries attacks on shelters

As many were killed in Israeli attacks on two UN-run schools were thousands of people were sheltering on Saturday, UN human rights expert has said attacks on UN shelters in Gaza are "painful to see."

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories said the attacks were "especially" concerning "as they shelter mostly women and children who are left with nowhere to go."

The UN independent human rights expert added that governments "must call for cease fire now and ensure its respect."


8:44am

Israeli forces now surrounding Gaza's Indonesian Hospital

Al Jazeera spoke to some people living near the area and according to them the Israeli forces are now surrounding the Indonesian Hospital, and they are bombarding the vicinity of the hospital. 

"From what we have gathered from witnesses, it looks like the Israeli forces are going to repeat what happened at al-Shifa Hospital. It looks like there will be an attempt to storm the Indonesian Hospital," AJ reports.

The generator has also been shut down at the hospital, which is the only one still trying to offer medical services in Gaza City and north of Gaza, together with a smaller medical facility.


8:26am

Fate of 250 critically-injured patients at al-Shifa Hospital still unknown

There are number of people, about 250, who are critically injured at al-Shifa Hospital, who were not able to to leave the hospital despite the Israeli order to evacuate the medical facility.

Those who managed to leave made it out of the hospital through a very difficult journey, including those premature babies and all those who were injured.

The newborn babies were evacuated with the help of Save the Children humanitarian organisation, who transferred them to the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, in preparation for their evacuation to a field hospital in the Egyptian side of the border.

But those who who are critically injured remain in the hospital due to the seriousness of their condition, and their fate now is unknown because there is no food and medical supply reaching al-Shifa Hospital.


7:48am

All 31 evacuated babies fighting serious infections: WHO

We have more information on the 31 premature and low birth-weight babies that have been evacuated from al-Shifa Hospital.

The babies are now being cared for at Al-Helal Al-Emarati Maternity Hospital in southern Gaza, where they are being assessed and stabilised, according to an update shared by the WHO, which helped evacuate the babies.

"Sadly, none of the infants were accompanied by family members, as the Ministry of Health has only limited information, and is not currently able to find close family members," the WHO update said.

Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 19, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

7:15am

Fire erupts after Israeli strike near Gaza's Indonesian Hospital

A video clip posted by Al Jazeera Arabic on X, showed a massive fire erupting near Gaza's Indonesian Hospital, as a string of loud explosions were overheard in the background.

According to the post, Israeli forces continue to bombard the northern part of Gaza and the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital, which has already gone out of service, but is still housing Palestinians who have fled their homes.


6:35am

Three more journalists killed in Israeli strike on Gaza, relatives say

The head of a prominent media institution in Gaza and two other journalists were killed during the weekend, their relatives told the Reuters news agency, adding to the dozens of reporters who have died in the six-week conflict.

On Sunday, Belal Jadallah, a journalist and head of the board of the Press House – Palestine, a non-governmental organisation, was killed and his pharmacist brother-in-law was seriously wounded, his sister and other relatives told Reuters.

In addition to Jadallah, two freelance journalists – Hassouna Sleem and Sary Mansour – were killed on Saturday in an Israeli assault on the Bureij refugee camp, in the centre of the Gaza Strip, their relatives and Palestinian health officials said. The health officials said 17 people died in the incident.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the weekend deaths raised to at least 48 the number of journalists and media workers it has confirmed killed in the region since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive.

Palestinians mourn local journalists Hassouna Sleem and Sary Mansour, who were killed in an Israeli strike on a house, at a hospital in the central Gaza Strip November 19, 2023. File Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

6:00am

Deaths, injuries reported after Israeli strikes across Gaza

The number of people killed in the Israeli raids on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip has risen to 22, according to the Wafa news agency.

This followed a strike on three residential buildings in the area, according to Wafa.

Those who were injured were reportedly transferred to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Dozens of Palestinians were also killed and injured following separate strikes on several homes in the Jabalia area and its refugee camp on Sunday night, according to Wafa.

A boy reacts as relatives of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes mourn at Nasser hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Disclaimer: The information and infographics provided in this thread have been collected from Al Jazeera, Reuters, BBC and other media platforms.

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