The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced, on Saturday evening, that the death toll from the “Israeli aggression” on the Strip had risen to 17,700 dead and 48,780 injured since last October 7.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement, “During the past hours, 210 dead and 2,300 wounded arrived at hospitals, and a large number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads.

He added, "During the past hours, the Israeli occupation committed 20 horrific massacres and annihilated entire families. We received dozens of appeals from citizens in residential neighborhoods and schools, including the Khalifa School, in northern Gaza, where the occupation committed a hideous massacre that claimed the lives of dozens of dead and wounded."

Al-Qudra explained, “The Israeli crime and genocide of the residents of the Gaza Strip exceeded description and the limits of reason to end the Palestinian presence with American and European support, which is inhumane.”

He stated that Israeli forces "still continue to besiege Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip."

Al-Qudra pointed out that "the occupation snipers surrounding Al-Awda Hospital, during the past hours, killed two health personnel, and killed and wounded many pregnant women when they arrived at the hospital to give birth."

He continued, "An ambulance was targeted while it was working to evacuate the wounded in the Gaza European Hospital area, which led to the injury of two paramedics and damage to the ambulance, bringing the number of ambulances targeted to 57."

Regarding the situation of hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip, Al-Qudra said that they “have lost their capacity and are powerless in the face of the huge numbers of wounded and dozens of wounded people losing their lives.”

Regarding the discharge of patients for treatment outside the Gaza Strip, he explained that “the mechanism used to discharge the wounded is still restricted and sterile and contributes to the killing of hundreds of wounded, and we demand that an effective mechanism be found for treatment abroad to preserve the lives of the wounded.”

He called for "providing a safe humanitarian corridor for large quantities of medical aid and fuel to enter and reach all hospitals in the Gaza Strip."

He also called for "immediate action to provide the medical needs and fuel to operate the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, which represents the only hope for the need of the wounded and sick in northern Gaza."