ISRAELI occupation forces have encircled the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, demanding the immediate evacuation of all those inside.
Gunfire has been reported near the hospital, where hundreds of vulnerable civilians, including children, women, patients, and medical staff, are trapped.
Eyewitness accounts confirm that Israeli forces are actively firing in the vicinity while issuing orders for the forcible removal of those within the hospital.
Medical sources have revealed that the hospital’s oxygen and electricity stations have been destroyed, rendering the facility incapable of delivering essential medical services.
With supplies entirely depleted, the lives of patients and injured individuals hang in the balance.
The Indonesian Hospital, already overwhelmed, has been receiving patients transferred from Kamal Adwan Hospital, which was burned and destroyed by Israeli forces last week.
Israeli forces have escalated their actions by bulldozing the surrounding areas, systematically dismantling infrastructure and obliterating any semblance of normal life.
Meanwhile, mounting global condemnation of Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Palestinian territories has converged on the plight of Kamal Adwan Hospital director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who was detained by Israeli forces on 27 December 2023.
Healthcare professionals, human rights advocates, and supporters worldwide are rallying for his immediate release, decrying Israel’s aggression against medical personnel and condemning the systematic assault on Gaza’s already devastated health sector.
His family, as well as international humanitarian groups, remain deeply concerned about his safety and whereabouts.
‘We are so worried, we haven’t been able to sleep for three days because we didn’t know until today where he is,’ said his son, Idrees Abu Safiya, who further revealed that his father’s leg was badly injured during the raid.
Witnesses also claimed that several other hospital staff members were taken from the same site and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Before his detention, Dr Abu Safiya had stayed at Kamal Adwan Hospital to care for patients despite continuous bombardment and siege. He also endured personal tragedy: his son was killed in front of him, and he himself was injured while on duty.
‘Our father continued to perform his duties with all sincerity,’ said Idrees, explaining that Dr Abu Safiya refused to abandon his patients, even while the hospital was under persistent attack.
The World Health Organisation said it was ‘appalled’ by the raid, which rendered Kamal Adwan Hospital non-operational. Patients, including the injured, were hastily evacuated to other locations, many of which lack essential services.
‘We are horrified and concerned by reports from northern Gaza and especially the attack on the healthcare workers, including the last remaining of 22 now destroyed hospitals: Kamal Adwan Hospital,’ said two UN Special Rapporteurs, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng and Francesca Albanese, in a joint statement.
They added: ‘We are gravely concerned with the fate of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, yet another doctor to be harassed, kidnapped and arbitrarily detained by the occupation force.
‘This is part of a pattern by Israel to continuously bombard, destroy and fully annihilate the realisation of the right to health in Gaza.’
Medical communities worldwide have launched a campaign calling for Dr Abu Safiya’s immediate release.
Using the hashtag #FreeDrHussamAbuSafiyeh, hundreds of healthcare workers from countries including India, Egypt, Brazil, Canada, and the UK have shared images of themselves holding posters in solidarity.
‘I am calling for the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya,’ read several posts by doctors and nurses, who also demanded accountability for the destruction of medical facilities and the harm inflicted on health professionals.
Sarah Warren, a nurse active in the campaign, remarked: ‘The Hippocratic oath has been eradicated by the precedent set in Palestine.
‘Every single moment that healthcare workers stay silent … we erode this oath.
‘As a nurse, I see clear as day the harm being inflicted on an entire population of people, the systematic destruction that will have devastating consequences for decades.’
Over 1,400 supporters have signed a petition citing international laws that prohibit attacks on medical facilities and personnel.
Released detainees have reportedly confirmed that Dr Abu Safiya has been subjected to humiliation and abuse, including being forced to undress and used as a human shield.
