TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Israeli tanks have encircled the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza following artillery fire that claimed the lives of at least 12 Palestinians within the complex, as reported by the enclave's Ministry of Health.

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Ashraf al-Qudra, Gaza's Health Ministry spokesperson, described the conditions within the Indonesian Hospital as catastrophic, emphasizing that approximately 700 people, including medical staff and the injured, are trapped inside.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the facility in Beit Lahia, northeast Gaza, came under artillery fire, prompting frantic efforts to evacuate civilians from the area of danger.

Hospital staff vehemently refuted claims of any armed militants present within the premises, and the assault on the hospital follows the World Health Organization's recent evacuation of 31 premature babies from al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, rescuing critically ill patients stranded there since Israeli forces entered the compound.

As the territory's largest health facility faces evacuation at gunpoint after being under siege for several days with 7,000 people inside, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA highlighted the collapse of services across northern Gaza, citing extensive strikes and severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies.

Israeli military allegations of underground militant infrastructure beneath hospitals were denied by both resistance fighters and medical officials.

Marwan Abdallah, a medical worker at the Indonesian Hospital, reported visible movement of Israeli tanks, causing terror among women and children amidst constant sounds of explosions and gunfire.

Abdallah revealed that the hospital had received numerous casualties from overnight air raids and shelling, adding to the grim toll of Israel's offensive in Gaza, which authorities say has resulted in over 13,000 deaths, a substantial number being children, since its launch on October 7.