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Asia News Network
04-07-2025
- Health
- Asia News Network
Director of Indonesia Hospital in Gaza killed in Israeli airstrike
July 4, 2025 JAKARTA – The government and volunteer organizations have condemned the attacks that led to the death of Dr. Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, who was killed along with his wife and children by an Israeli airstrike that hit their house in the western part of the enclave. 'Our hearts are filled with sorrow, and words cannot express the magnitude of this loss,' a local volunteer of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) in Gaza said in a post uploaded by the group on its Instagram account on Wednesday. The volunteer group funds the operation of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza. 'May Allah have mercy on their souls, grant them the best place in heaven and give fortitude to all who knew and loved them,' he went on to say. Marwan, an interventional cardiologist, and his family were among the casualties of a bombing by the Israeli military targeting residential areas and a school in Gaza on Wednesday, as reported by the Palestinian news agency WAFA. At least seven Palestinians were killed in the airstrike, with all casualties brought to Al-Shifa Medical Complex. Marwan has been working as a doctor at the Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza since 2016, tending to the sick and wounded in the city. The hospital itself has been bombarded several times during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip that also targeted medical facilities in the area. In May, drone assaults inflicted severe structural damage to the hospital and disrupted critical medical services in its intensive care units. Despite Israel's continuous attacks and resources shortage, Marwan 'relentlessly led the Indonesia Hospital under grave circumstances' to provide essential medical services to the Palestinians, MER-C wrote in a statement. The group worked with Marwan to restore emergency services and full operations of the hospital between January and March. The volunteer group condemned the killing of the doctor and his family, calling the act 'a flagrant violation of humanitarian principles and a grave act of injustice that must be held accountable,' MER-C wrote. Responding to the death, the Foreign Ministry extended its condolences over Marwan's death and condemned the Israeli military's attack on the hospital director and his family. 'Indonesia appreciates [Marwan's] service, commitment and struggle for the sake of humanity and peace in Palestine,' the ministry wrote on its official X account on Thursday. It added that Indonesia would continue to repeat its call for the end of Israel's atrocities and a ceasefire in Palestine, while continuing to closely monitor the situation around the operation of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza. Indonesia has been a fervent ally of the Palestinian cause, with President Prabowo Subianto stating that the country would 'continue to stand with Palestine' during a Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States (PUIC) in Jakarta in May. The President reiterated his support during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, where he and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad bin Salman condemned Israel's policy of using humanitarian aid blockades and hunger as weapons against civilians in the Gaza Strip. Both leaders also rejected in a joint statement the forced relocation of Palestinians inside and outside their homeland, asserting that peace and stability in Palestine could only be reached through the two-state solution approach. Israel has recently expanded its military operations in the Gaza Strip, where the war since October 2023 has created dire humanitarian conditions and displaced nearly all of the territory's population of more than two million. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to eradicate Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war, even after the Palestinian militant group said it was studying new proposals for a ceasefire from mediators, AFP reported.
Sinar Daily
03-07-2025
- Health
- Sinar Daily
Director of Indonesia hospital in Gaza and family killed in Israeli airstrike
The Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER‑C), a Jakarta-based non-governmental organisation that operates the hospital, confirmed the deaths in a statement citing information from its local team in Gaza. 03 Jul 2025 01:30pm This picture shows the rubble of a residential house in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP) JAKARTA - The director of the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza, Dr Marwan Al-Sultan, was killed along with members of his family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Tal al-Hawa, southwest Gaza City, on Wednesday, according to an Indonesian humanitarian organisation. The Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER‑C), a Jakarta-based non-governmental organisation that operates the hospital, confirmed the deaths in a statement citing information from its local team in Gaza. This picture shows the rubble of a residential house in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP) "With deep sorrow, we announce the death of Dr Marwan and members of his family, following a direct airstrike on their residence,' a local MER‑C volunteer said. At least nine Palestinians were killed and several others injured in the attack, the organisation said. Dr Marwan, a Palestinian, was described as a "highly dedicated medical professional' who had served the people of Gaza for many years, particularly during repeated crises and armed conflicts. "His passing is a profound loss, not only to his colleagues but also to his patients and the wider Gaza community who knew him. May he and his family be granted the best place in the hereafter,' MER-C added. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza condemned the attack, calling it a "heinous crime' against medical personnel. "Every crime against medical and humanitarian personnel confirms the bloody methodology and the premeditated insistence on directly and deliberately targeting them,' the ministry stated in a statement. The Indonesian government also expressed its condolences and strong condemnation. "Indonesia expresses its deep condolences over the passing of Dr Marwan along with his family on July 2, and strongly condemns the Israeli attack,' the Foreign Ministry posted on X. The statement praised Dr Marwan's "service, commitment, and struggle in the name of humanity and for peace in Palestine,' and said Indonesia was continuing to closely monitor developments at the hospital. Indonesia reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to what it described as "Israel's atrocities'. The Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza, funded by Indonesian civil society, has provided critical trauma care since 2016, with Dr Marwan playing a central role in sustaining its operations amid ongoing conflict. - BERNAMA More Like This
Arab News
02-03-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Jakarta NGO sends off new batch of medics to volunteer at Gaza hospital
JAKARTA: A new group of Indonesian medics is on their way to Gaza to volunteer at the Indonesia Hospital, the Jakarta-based nongovernmental organization that assembled the team said on Sunday, as uncertainties loom over the second phase of the ceasefire. The Indonesian NGO Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, or MER-C, has been organizing teams of doctors and nurses since last March, as part of emergency deployments led by the World Health Organization. The latest batch, comprising two general practitioners, a nurse, an anesthesiologist and a midwife, departed Jakarta on Saturday and is expected to enter Gaza in the next couple of days. 'They will be stationed at the Indonesia Hospital, as the facility has resumed operations,' Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C's board of trustees in Jakarta, told Arab News on Sunday. 'Gaza is in need of different kinds of doctors, as the number of victims and the availability of local doctors are disproportionate.' MER-C has so far sent 45 volunteers to Gaza as part of its emergency medical teams, which previously comprised other specialists, including internists and surgeons. The Indonesia Hospital — a facility that was funded and opened by MER-C in late 2015 — was one of the first sites hit when Israel began its assault on Gaza in October 2023. Since the first phase of the ceasefire began on Jan. 19, the hospital has also been gradually resuming essential services, from surgeries to emergency and inpatient services, as it worked to reach at least 50 percent of full capacity by July. For nurse Ade Andrian, a member of MER-C's latest emergency medical team, the opportunity to volunteer in Gaza was a long time coming, having first registered in 2023, a couple of months after Israel began its latest assault on the enclave. 'Praise be to God that today I have been given the chance to join the EMT to be a part of the humanitarian mission for the people of Gaza,' Andrian said. However, as the first stage of the ceasefire ended without agreement on continuing into a second phase and Israel moved to block entry of all humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the latest developments are sparking concerns. 'The blocking of humanitarian aid will not only impact the Indonesia Hospital but also all the other hospitals in Gaza and also the residents of the enclave,' MER-C's Murad said. 'We hope that Israel will soon continue with the ceasefire deal according to what was agreed. If this is violated, then we fear another massive wave of civilian loss.'
Arab News
27-01-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Jakarta NGO to rebuild Indonesian hospital as Palestinians return to north Gaza
JAKARTA: A Jakarta-based nongovernmental organization has committed to rebuilding the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza as Palestinians began returning to the area on Monday. The Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahiya, funded by the Indonesian NGO Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, was one of the first targets hit when Israel began its assault on Gaza in October 2023. As relentless Israeli attacks pushed the enclave's healthcare system to the brink of collapse, the Indonesia Hospital had stood as one of the last functioning health facilities in the north. 'Since the war started, the Indonesia Hospital has served as one of the main healthcare centers for residents of Gaza in the north. It has been attacked multiple times, damaging parts of the building itself and also various health equipment,' Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C's board of trustees in Jakarta, told Arab News on Monday. 'We need to rebuild and fill it up with all the necessary health equipment … It is our moral commitment to rebuilding the hospital.' Israel has frequently targeted medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, saying that they are used by Palestinian armed groups. The Indonesia Hospital opened in 2015 and was officially inaugurated by the country's then-Vice President Jusuf Kalla in 2016. The four-story general hospital stands on a 16,200 sq. meter plot of land near the Jabalia refugee camp in North Gaza, donated by the local government in 2009. The hospital's construction and equipment were financed from donations of the Asia nation's people, as well as organizations including the Indonesian Red Cross Society. Since it opened almost a decade ago, MER-C continued to send volunteers to help. A couple of them stayed in Gaza until late last year, as MER-C also sent medical volunteers to the besieged enclave since March as part of a larger emergency deployment led by the World Health Organization. The Indonesia Hospital was treating about 1,000 people at one point during Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 47,300 people and injured over 111,000. 'Many Indonesians are looking forward for the Indonesia Hospital to return to normal operations again, and this is the trust that MER-C keeps close because the hospital is a symbol of unity between Indonesians and Palestinians,' Murad said. 'Healthcare is an urgent need for Palestinians, so we want to offer our support here in our field of expertise.' Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning to the remains of their destroyed homes in north Gaza on Monday, after Israel opened the Netzarim corridor, a 7 km strip of land controlled by Israeli forces that cuts off the enclave's north from the rest of the territory. 'We hope Israel will continue to give access for Gaza residents to return to their homes in the north peacefully and not breach the ceasefire agreement in any way,' Murad said.
