Indonesia Rejects Israeli Claims at ICJ amid Gaza Hospital Crisis
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Indonesian officials have firmly rejected Israel's claims at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday that Hamas "managed operations" from the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.
They further dismissed allegations of five dead captives found in tunnels beneath the hospital. Sarbini Abdul Murad, head of the Indonesian charity Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) that funded the hospital, told Al Jazeera that Israel's accusations were "not true at all."
"Hopefully, the ICJ will have the courage to find that Israel carried out genocide. Israel has told a lot of lies," Murad asserted. MER-C volunteer Fikri Rofiul Haq, present at the hospital before the Israeli forces attacked and evacuated all staff and patients, refuted Israel's testimony, stating, "I never saw any tunnels under the hospital or any captives."
Simultaneously, in central Gaza's Al-Aqsa Hospital, doctors are raising alarms over a power outage endangering the lives of vulnerable patients. A doctor from the facility expressed concern, stating, "This situation is threatening the lives of many patients and newborns. We're trying to work with what we have, but we will have to stop working completely because we don't have any electricity." Another doctor, working with the flash on her phone, urgently treats vulnerable patients, including over a dozen babies. She emphasized, "We are trying to manage as best we can, even just to find some blankets for the children and babies. They suffer from malnutrition. They can easily get sick, even die, God forbid."
Meanwhile, Al-Aqsa Hospital is increasingly feeling the impact of the expanding Israeli military ground operations in central Gaza. With a blackout at the hospital and videos showing heavy gunfire and fighting in its vicinity, patients and medical staff face an uncertain fate.
Recent military attacks targeted the facility and nearby residential buildings. The Israeli army, now only a few hundred meters away from the hospital, is intensifying its operations, according to reports from colleagues on the ground.
At least 23,843 people have been killed and more than 60,317 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.