Israeli soldiers unfurled a “Rising Lion” banner over the ruins of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. Built with US$7.3 million donated by Indonesians and opened in late 2015, the hospital symbolised solidarity, yet now lies in rubble. Jakarta’s foreign ministry called the banner’s placement a provocation that insults a humanitarian facility.
Strikes on Gaza hospitals are not anomalies. The UN Human Rights Office recorded at least 136 attacks on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities between October 2023 and June 2024. Gaza’s health system has been pushed to collapse under sustained pressure, with medical staff killed and facilities rendered inoperable.
The Indonesian hospital itself was shelled in November 2023 when Israeli tanks surrounded it, and artillery fire killed at least 12 Palestinians. Hanging a banner over those ruins tries to reframe destruction as victory, erasing memory and rewriting grief.
Over 72,100 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, including more than 21,200 children, and more than 171,800 have been injured. 1.9 million people have already been displaced in the Gaza Strip at least once. More than 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced amid Israeli bombardments and ground operations. Entire neighbourhoods have been flattened, and 80 per cent of buildings are damaged or destroyed.
Those who survive live in limbo. One fifth of Gaza’s population now lives with disabilities, and at least 17,000 children are unaccompanied, while 35,000 have lost one or both parents. Food security has collapsed; 1.6 million people face acute food insecurity, with five per cent in catastrophic famine conditions, while 130,000 children under five are acutely malnourished. Nearly every school has been damaged, leaving more than 637,000 children without formal education.
Field hospitals are overwhelmed. The Red Cross facility in Rafah treated more than 3,400 patients in May alone, with most injuries caused by gunfire. Staff who once handled ten operations a day now operate on 30 to 40 patients, straining resources and morale. Hunger and disease now rival bombs as killers, malnutrition weakens immune systems, and children cannot fight infection. Aid flows are limited by Israeli restrictions at crossings, and even humanitarian convoys face searches or denial.
The Rising Lion banner invites the world to applaud rubble, to see the obliteration of a hospital as a noble triumph. However, at least on paper, international law forbids targeting hospitals and requires that the sick and wounded be protected.
We cannot reduce the response to a hashtag. While condemning actions may be easy, true solidarity demands real investment. Muslim-majority nations and human rights organisations should advocate for an independent investigation into attacks on hospitals, push for unrestricted humanitarian corridors, and support referrals to the International Criminal Court. The world is not powerless. Ergo, this overwhelming silence is a conscious choice. *