JNS
At least five gunmen were killed and several more were arrested, including a terrorist who participated in the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Israel Defense Forces wrapped up a targeted counter-terror operation at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, between Jabaliya and Beit Hanun, the military announced on Tuesday night.
Troops of the IDF's Givati Brigade launched the raid overnight on Monday after intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) indicated "the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructures in the area of the hospital," the IDF stated.
The Israeli military said at least five gunmen were killed and several more were arrested during the hours-long operation, including a terrorist who participated in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During the past month, the premises of the Indonesian Hospital were repeatedly used to attack Israeli troops, including with anti-tank fire. The military said Hamas also planted explosive devices in the area.
To mitigate possible harm to noncombatants, the IDF said it "enabled and facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, medical personnel, and patients from the area both before and during the operation."
“The operation was conducted after multiple warnings were issued to the [Hamas-run] Gaza health ministry regarding terrorist activity being conducted inside the hospital,” the military statement continued.
Also on Tuesday, Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck a Hamas rocket-launching pad in the Al-Shati Camp on the northern Gaza coast. The strike near a United Nations structure was carried out after the IDF called on noncombatants to leave the area, according to a statement.
Footage published by the Israeli military showed a Hamas terrorist rocket flying out of the launch site following the IAF airstrike.
In late 2023, IDF soldiers uncovered evidence tying the Indonesian Hospital to Oct. 7. In the compound, troops found a Toyota Corolla belonging to the family of the late Samer Talalka. Talalka was one of three hostages mistakenly killed by IDF forces on Dec. 15, 2023.
The car also contained bloodstains identified as belonging to a second Israeli hostage taken during the Oct. 7 assault. Also found in the vehicle were the remnants of a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
In the inner compound of the medical center, forces discovered a white Toyota truck of the same type used by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Additional weapons were found inside the vehicle.
According to the IDF, the hospital, which was built through donations from Indonesia, "is the strategic underground center of Hamas’ Jabalia Battalion. During the war, armed Nukhba operatives were sighted in the hospital. They used it as a gathering point before leaving to carry out their activities.”
"It is one of the hospitals that the Hamas terrorist organization uses in order to hide behind sick civilians, and from which it operates terrorist infrastructure," the Israeli army charged in a Dec. 23, 2023 statement.
"The hospital has extensive terror infrastructure; near it, there are tunnel shafts leading to a tunnel route in the area," the IDF stated at the time.
