GAZA CITY, Palestine /ISTANBUL

The Israeli military struck the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza late Monday, targeting its power generators and sparking a massive fire, medical sources told Anadolu.

The airstrike came amid a siege by Israeli troops on the facility as part of Israel’s genocide across the Gaza Strip.

Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Health Ministry, told Anadolu that the hospital lost electricity following the strike.

He said the facility houses patients and wounded people receiving treatment and warned that the bombing of the generators poses a serious threat to their lives.

Al-Bursh accused Israel of showing disregard for the health system and international humanitarian law, saying the military continues to target medical infrastructure.

Gaza’s Civil Defense reported receiving distress calls from hospital administrators about a fire that broke out in the external generators and spread to parts of the facility.

The agency said its teams were trying to coordinate access to the hospital to extinguish the fire amid deteriorating security conditions in the area.

Al-Bursh said Sunday that Israeli tanks and bulldozers were surrounding the hospital, threatening the safety of patients and medical staff.

On the same day, the Israeli military launched a new ground operation in multiple areas of the Gaza Strip under what it called “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” marking a significant escalation in its ongoing genocide.

Since launching its assault on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli army has repeatedly targeted hospitals and the health care system, rendering most facilities nonfunctional, according to Palestinian and UN reports.

Out of 38 hospitals in Gaza, only 19 are still operating, albeit partially, including eight public and 11 private hospitals, the Gaza Health Ministry said. In addition, nine field hospitals provide emergency services amid the Israeli annihilation.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 53,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.