Medan, Indonesia – Indonesian doctors held a community prayer in Jakarta to call for a ceasefire and an end to the “genocide” in Gaza, where the Indonesian hospital, located in the north of the war-torn Palestinian enclave, was forced to cease operations.
The event was held in Jakarta and online, attended by staff from Indonesian associations of doctors, midwives, pharmacists and dentists, and was organized by the Emergency Medical Relief Committee (MER -C) which helped finance the construction of the Indonesian hospital in 2011.
It is “time to shout to the world: stop the genocide,” the Indonesian Medical Association and MER-C said in a joint statement.
“Attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers constitute violations of international law,” they said in the statement.
“A total of 22 hospitals and 49 health centers have been forced to cease operations in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli arrogance,” the two groups said, calling on the Indonesian government to “engage in international diplomacy “firmly on the international stage to put pressure on Israel to cease its activities.” aggression in Gaza.
Three Indonesian volunteers, Fikri Rofiul Haq, Reza Aldilla Kurniawan and Farid Zanjabil Al Ayubi, are currently based at the Beit Lahia Indonesian Hospital in Gaza.
Hospital director Atef al-Kahlout told Tel Aviv Tribune on Thursday that the medical facility was no longer able to “offer more services… we cannot offer any beds to patients.”
Serious Israeli attacks were reported on Friday near the Indonesian hospital. Describing the attack, journalist Hussam Shabbat said from the Indonesian hospital: “We lived through 15 minutes of hell. »
Shabbat said that although Israel bombs the region daily, Friday was the most difficult day since the war began.
Dr. Zecky Eko Triwahyudi, an orthopedic and trauma doctor at Jakarta’s Cempaka Putih Islamic Hospital, who attended the prayer event in the Indonesian capital, said it was “the least he could do” for support the people of Gaza.
“Health facilities, which should not be targeted, have been targeted by Israeli forces over the past month. Without any basis, excuses are made up to justify attacks on hospitals and health workers. All hospitals in the Gaza Strip have become targets,” he said.
Triwahyudi said a humanitarian response was a matter of urgency because the Gaza Strip’s two largest and best-known trauma hospitals, al-Shifa Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital, “were paralyzed in recent years.” last days “.
The Indonesian hospital is the main trauma hospital in northern Gaza and therefore provides essential care in that area, while al-Shifa hospital is located in central Gaza, he explained.
“Indonesia’s response could be firmer”
While Indonesian health workers have rallied over the Indonesian hospital and the plight of Gaza, the Indonesian government faces a difficult diplomatic situation regarding the war and the fate of the hospital and its staff, as Jakarta brings closer to the United States – Israel’s most loyal ally.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country and has seen large protests in support of the Palestinians as well as calls to boycott businesses seen as linked to Israel.
In a meeting earlier this week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo pressed US President Joe Biden to do more to end “atrocities” in Gaza and contribute to a ceasefire. The two men then agreed to elevate their diplomatic relations to the rank of “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
Ahmad Rizky M Umar, a lecturer at the University of Queensland, told Tel Aviv Tribune that although Indonesia built and facilitates the Indonesian hospital in Gaza, it is unable to protect it currently.
“Indonesia does not have sufficient diplomatic capacity to defend it, especially against attacks by Israeli forces,” he said. “Indonesia’s response could be stronger by convincing other countries to put pressure on Israel. Above all to encourage a ceasefire and a stronger humanitarian response,” he said.
Dr. Yogi Prabowo, also an orthopedic and trauma doctor at Cempaka Putih Islamic Hospital in Jakarta, said ceasing operations at the Indonesian hospital would likely have fatal consequences for Palestinians, especially after al-Shifa also stopped providing services.
“The Indonesian hospital was the last gasp of medical services in Gaza, but now they have stopped,” Prabowo said.
