Indonesia, Malaysia condemn ‘madness’ of Gaza hospital blast

Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur urge the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation to ‘mobilise international support’ to address the crisis

Indonesians chant at a fundraiser for the Palestinian cause on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Indonesia and Malaysia have joined the Muslim world’s condemnation of Israel in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly attack on a Gaza hospital and called for an immediate ceasefire, even as preliminary evidence suggests the strike may have been the result of a rocket misfired by a local militant group.

Jakarta accused Israel of “unprecedented aggression” late on Wednesday while Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim described the situation as “madness”.

Anwar Ibrahim describes the situation in Gaza as ‘madness’. Picture: AFP

“It‘s time for us to calm down the situation and stop. If this continues the victims will be mothers, women and children. This has reached the level of madness and humanity has been lost,” Mr Anwar said ahead of a meeting of ASEAN and Gulf Cooperation Council nations in Riyadh on Friday, and separate talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi rushed to the Saudi city of Jeddah on Wednesday to attend an emergency meeting of Organisation of Islamic Co-operation foreign ministers to discuss the crisis hours after the bombing of the Christian-run Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, while President Joko Widodo flew into Riyadh from Beijing on Thursday.

Joko Widodo, arriving in Beijing with wife Iriana, flew from the Chinese capital to Riyadh on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

“Indonesia‘s message has been clear and consistent: stop the escalation, focus on humanitarian issues, and resolve the root problems within the framework of international parameters that have been agreed upon,” Ms Retno said in a statement after the meeting.

“Indonesia also expressed strong condemnation of the unprecedented aggression against civilians in Gaza and all occupied Palestinian territories. Israel’s demand to evacuate 22 hospitals in Gaza is inhumane and contrary to international humanitarian law.”

She urged the OIC to mobilise international support to address the situation in Gaza.

Hamas has reported at least 471 deaths from the attack, though some independent experts have told the Wall Street Journal the small blast site in the hospital car park _ and the lack of shockwave damage _ was not indicative of an Israeli air strike, and that the localised damage was inconsistent with the official Palestinian death toll.

Israel insists it did not bomb the packed hospital, and says its intelligence points to Hamas or its rival Palestinian Islamic Jihad having misfired a rocket — perhaps from a cemetery behind the clinic compound, a claim both groups deny.

President Joe Biden has said Israel’s account appeared more accurate based on US defence department intelligence he had received, including communications intercepts of two Hamas fighters discussing the “misfire” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.

“Our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.

That has done little to quell rising anger in the Middle East over the loss of lives in Gaza as Israel continues to pummel Gaza in preparation for a retaliatory ground assault on Hamas, which carried out the deadliest ever attack on Jewish soil earlier this month.

OIC secretary-general Hussein Ibrahim Taha accused Israel of war crimes at Wednesday’s meeting and demanded Israeli forces be held responsible for the “consequences of their terrorism and brutal attacks on the Palestinian people”, Arab News quoted him as saying.

More than 1400 men, women and children were massacred in the co-ordinated strikes on Israeli kibbutz, military posts and a music festival. As many as 3000 Palestinian men, women and children have been killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza.