JAKARTA: Activists in Indonesia on Tuesday called for action against Israel following a missile attack that damaged an Indonesian-run hospital in Gaza.
The Indonesia Hospital, located in northern Gaza just outside the area’s largest refugee camp in Jabalia, was established in 2015 and funded by Indonesian NGO Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, or MER-C.
In a statement, MER-C said the facility was damaged by Israeli airstrikes on Saturday following days of air raids in Gaza that also damaged other health facilities, including Al-Aqsa Hospital.
“AWG (Aqsa Working Group) urges world leaders and the international community to stop Zionists. To boycott and punish Israel,” Muhammad Anshorullah, a member of AWG’s executive committee, told Arab News.
“AWG also strongly condemns the attacks that damaged the Indonesia Hospital,” he said, adding that the hospital symbolized Indonesia-Palestine friendship.
Indonesia has for decades been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause. People and authorities in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country see Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.
The Southeast Asian nation has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and the Indonesian government has repeatedly called for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and for a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders.
“AWG also urges world leaders, especially the UN, to make concrete efforts to return the land of Palestine to the nation of Palestine,” Anshorullah said.
At least 33 Palestinians, including children, were killed between Tuesday last week and Saturday, in the heaviest attacks on Gaza in months.
MER-C was still assessing the extent of damage caused by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday, with several photos shared online over the weekend showing busted ceilings of the Indonesia Hospital.
“We are giving special attention to the damage on Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, Palestine caused by Israeli bombings. We are trying to repair the damages,” Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s executive committee, told Arab News.
“Indonesia Hospital is a contribution of the Indonesian people to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The damage deeply hurts Indonesians,” Murad said.
“We condemn Israeli aggression on civilians in Gaza and attacks damaging health facilities protected by international law. We ask the UN, OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), and the international community to put a stop to Israel’s raging crimes.”
