The ministry said in its daily statistical report that the daily death toll does not include hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip due to the difficulty of accessing them due to the intensive Israeli operation there. The ministry explained that the death toll from Palestinian casualties since Israel resumed its massacre on March 18 has risen to "4,117 martyrs and 12,013 wounded."
She noted that a number of victims were buried under the rubble of destroyed homes and on the streets, where ambulance and civil defense crews were unable to reach them.
Twenty-two Palestinians were killed and others injured on Saturday as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, part of the ongoing genocidal war that has been ongoing for the twentieth month.
Medical sources reported that six Palestinians, including four women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a tent housing displaced persons in the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Shortly before, four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a civilian vehicle near the Al-Sahaba Medical Complex in Gaza City, according to the same sources.
On Saturday morning, sources said that four Palestinians from the Deeb family—the father, mother, and their two children—were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a tent sheltering them in the Shanti area of Gaza City overnight. They added that three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces as they attempted to reach a US aid distribution point near Al-Alam Roundabout, west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Almost daily since Tuesday, Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire among hungry Palestinians seeking to collect US aid from distribution points overseen by the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by Tel Aviv and Washington.
Sources said two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombardment of the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis. Both the town of Al-Qarara and the nearby town of Bani Suhaila are witnessing widespread destruction and demolition of buildings and infrastructure, according to eyewitnesses.
In this context, the sources explained that ambulance and civil defense crews recovered the bodies of two Palestinians killed in a previous Israeli bombardment on the town of Al-Qarara, east of the city, without specifying the time of the attack. They also stated that a Palestinian was killed and others were injured in a bombing carried out by an Israeli drone in the Safi neighborhood in the Al-Sikka area in the center of Khan Yunis.
For its part, the Khuza'a Municipality, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, declared the town of Al-Qarara a "complete disaster area" on Saturday, due to the direct and ongoing Israeli targeting of all aspects of life there as part of the ongoing war of genocide, which has been ongoing for the past 20 months.
The municipality said in a statement: "We declare the town a complete disaster area, as a result of the direct and continuous targeting of all aspects of life there."
The municipality explained that the Israeli war machine leveled the town's homes, as well as its health and educational facilities, and destroyed roads and infrastructure, rendering them unusable. It noted that Palestinians were forced to flee the town under Israeli shelling and gunfire.
In early March, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel concluded. The agreement, which took effect on January 19, 2025, was brokered by Egypt and Qatar and supervised by the United States.
While Hamas adhered to the terms of the first phase, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, shied away from initiating the second phase in deference to extremists in his ruling coalition, according to Hebrew media.
Since March 18, Israel has resumed its genocidal campaign, launching violent, large-scale airstrikes, most of which have targeted civilians in homes and tents housing displaced Palestinians. On May 8, its military announced the launch of Operation Gideon, expanding the war on Gaza to include ground attacks across the country.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with full American support, has been committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, coupled with a stifling blockade that has plunged the Strip into unprecedentedly dire humanitarian conditions.
