Israeli forces burn Gaza's Indonesian Hospital as they tighten siege on north of enclave

At least 200,000 people have been trapped in Jabalia camp for 17 days without aid, food and water

Men carry an injured woman in Jabalia refugee camp. AFP

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Israeli forces have set fire to northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital on Monday, one of only three partially functional hospitals out of 10 in the area, the enclave's health ministry said, after witnesses reported the army had also burnt down buildings where thousands of people had been taking shelter.

The hospital in Beit Lahia, north of Jabalia, was "directly targeted", the ministry said, adding that its generators were bombed which cut off electricity and caused "patients to die after being disconnected from oxygen devices". With severe restrictions on their movements, hospital staff are having to bury the dead inside the medical complex, which remains under siege.

"Even the option of prioritising the wounded is no longer available, as many of the injured were left to bleed to death yesterday due to the number of casualties,” the ministry said.

Yousri Qarmout, 37, told The National that Israeli forces set fire to buildings in Beit Lahia in which people were sheltering, “The occupation hasn't stopped using the tactics of burning and demolition throughout this operation. Every day, we see plumes of smoke rising everywhere.

“Yesterday, the Israeli army set fire to many buildings around the Indonesian Hospital, a well-known area with many shelters. The fires hasn't stopped and the smoke reached most parts of northern Gaza, while the sounds of explosions continue without a break.”

Iman Wadi, 31, is among the displaced Palestinians who had to flee from one of the shelters surrounding the Indonesian Hospital. She arrived in Gaza city with her mother, child and three sisters on Saturday evening after Israeli forces stormed their shelter. “The soldiers arrived at dawn on Saturday,” Ms Wadi told The National.

“Two hours later, they ordered all the young men and boys over 10 to come down from the rooms to the yard. They took them to unknown locations at gunpoint, beating and abusing them.”

Ms Wadi's father, brother and husband were among those detained. "They burnt the shelters near the Indonesian Hospital and warned us not to look right or left, or our lives would be at risk," she said.

Hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza remain under siege. At least 200,000 people have been trapped in northern Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp for 17 days, where no aid has been allowed in. Movement is severely restricted and conditions are deteriorating daily. Just three of northern Gaza's 10 hospitals are even partially functional.

Rami Youssef, 26, and his family in Jabalia's west are among those surrounded by Israeli tanks. They have no access to food or water and the bombing is relentless. “There is absolutely no way to escape; anyone who tries to enter or leave the camp through any route other than the one designated by the army is killed on the spot,” he told The National.

The UN said it has been requesting access to the north of the strip since Friday from Israeli authorities but has not received it.

“Several of our neighbours left in the past few days but we lost contact with them," Mr Youssef said. "They neither made it to Gaza city nor returned home. It’s likely the [Israeli] army killed them along the way. No one knows their fate.”

Mohammed Abdelhadi, 28, was another of those detained as Israeli forces rounded up men and boys from the shelters. “The army arrested us, beat us and insulted us,” Mr Abdelhadi told The National. He was later released after no links to military involvement were discovered.

Mr Abdelhadi recounted harrowing details of his detention. “They blindfolded us and forced us to curse Hamas while recording videos on their phones. I saw a young man brutally beaten until he lost consciousness – just for asking a soldier about his fate.”

On his way to Gaza city, Mr Abdelhadi called his wife, urging her not to head south. “I reunited with her and my children in Gaza city,” he said, relieved to have escaped, while the fate of thousands of others remains uncertain.