Hundreds trapped in Gaza's Indonesian Hospital amid fierce fighting
Hundreds of patients are trapped inside another major hospital in the Gaza Strip amid fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, as fears grow that the situation could turn into a repeat of what happened at Al-Shifa Hospital.
The Indonesian Hospital is located in the northern edge of north Gaza, right on the frontline of Israel's advance. Al Jazeera reported that there are 700 people currently stuck inside the besieged hospital, including medical staff and wounded civilians.
![PHOTO: Injured Palestinians evacuated from the Indonesian hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip receive care at Nasser hospital in the Palestinian territory's southern city of Khan Yunis, on Nov. 20, 2023.](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/567afd73-f718-4243-ae12-04f77904adbc/indonesian-hospital-mo_1700572040150_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg)
At least 12 people, including patients and their companions, were reportedly killed on Monday when the Indonesian Hospital came under fire, according to the World Health Organization, which said it was "appalled by the attack." Doctors in the hospital told Al Jazeera that the facility was hit by artillery shells, while others suggested an Israeli tank may have fired at it.
"Health workers and civilians should never have to be exposed to such horror, and especially while inside a hospital," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
![](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/e912bcdc-0c6b-4982-8103-f424176f6b69/GazaHospMap_v04_LY_1700577611124_hpEmbed_1x1.jpg)
Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital, told BBC News that Israeli troops were only about 20 meters (66 feet) away. The Israeli military said its forces targeted "terrorists" who had opened fire at them from within the hospital, according to BBC News.
ABC News has not confirmed that Israeli troops were responsible for strikes on the Indonesian Hospital. The Israel Defense Forces said it was operating in specific areas outside the hospital due to enemy fire and that no shells were launched toward the facility.
![PHOTO: Injured Palestinians evacuated from the Indonesian hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip receive care at Nasser hospital in the Palestinian territory's southern city of Khan Yunis, on Nov. 20, 2023.](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/1f9850fd-febf-40ca-9dbd-bedc07cc0715/indonesian-hospital2-mo_1700572189668_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg)
Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said 200 patients were evacuated from the Indonesian Hospital by bus to southern Gaza and that the International Committee of the Red Cross was trying to coordinate the evacuation of the remaining 400 patients, according to BBC News.
Video purportedly taken inside the Indonesian Hospital shows injured people and others sheltering on the floor. Additional footage appears to show damage to the hospital and heavy bombardments landing close to the facility in recent days.
-ABC News' Patrick Reevell, Kerem Inal and Morgan Winsor