RIYAD -- Saudi Arabia has sent two hospital aircraft staffed with medical personnel to Gaza to help with the injured from Israel's attacks on the Palestinian territory and to carry any severely injured patients to hospitals inside Saudi Arabia for treatment, the government said on Monday.

The two Medevac (medical evacuation) aircraft departed Riyadh Air Base for Al-Areesh airport, carrying representatives from the Saudi Red Crescent Society and other medical personnel, medical equipment and supplies to treat those injured in the attacks, the state news agency SPA said.

Minister of Health Hamad al-Mane told SPA that the country's hospitals were prepared to receive incoming casualties from Gaza.