This morning, the IDF expanded its assault to the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. A shell struck the second floor of the hospital, killing at least 12 people, reported the Palestinian Health Ministry and a medical worker inside the facility. Marwan Abdallah, the medical worker, told The Associated Press that Israeli tanks were operating less than 200 meters from the hospital, and that Israeli snipers could be seen on the roofs of nearby buildings. As he spoke over the phone, the sound of gunfire could be heard in the background.
Abdallah said the hospital had received dozens of dead and wounded from airstrikes and shelling overnight. He said medical staff and displaced people fear Israel will besiege the hospital and force its evacuation. Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra, who is now based in southern Gaza, said some 600 patients, 200 healthcare workers, and 2,000 displaced people were sheltering there.
