Indonesia denounces Israel ‘propaganda’ banner over Gaza hospital ruins

Indonesia on Wednesday accused Israel of flying a “propaganda” banner over the ruins of a hospital that had been built in Gaza with Indonesian funding.

The Indonesia Hospital, in the north of the Gaza Strip near the fortified border with Israel, was opened in late 2015 after Indonesia’s Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, a humanitarian NGO, raised approximately $7.3 million in donations for its construction, according to state news agency Antara.

It has since been destroyed, and Jakarta on Wednesday objected to the raising of a banner over the ruins that alluded to Israel’s 12-day “Rising Lion” military operation against Iran last year.

“The use of military symbols and propaganda over the ruins of a destroyed hospital, especially when linked to a specific military operation, is a highly provocative act and cannot be justified,” the foreign ministry said in a statement posted on X.

“This act is an insult to a humanitarian facility built from the solidarity of the Indonesian people for the Palestinian people.”

The ministry said all medical facilities “must be respected and protected” under international humanitarian law and called on Israel to cease actions that endanger civilian infrastructure.

In 2023, Indonesia denied an Israeli claim that the hospital sat atop a network of Hamas tunnels.