Death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks rises to 17,700

People mourn next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, during a funeral at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 9, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

At least 17,700 Palestinians have been killed and 48,780 wounded in Israeli attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday.

Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Hamas-run ministry, said that in recent hours two paramedics were wounded when Israeli forces targeted an ambulance while it was working to evacuate wounded patients from Gaza’s European Hospital.

READ: Israel battles Hamas near another Gaza hospital sheltering thousands

He denounced what he called Israel’s war against hospitals, ambulances, and medical teams.

Israel said Hamas operates from within hospitals and has released footage supporting the claim, and it has also targeted in the past ambulances it says were used by Hamas. Hamas has denied this.

READ: Israel unveils what it claims a major Hamas hideout beneath Gaza hospital

Israeli forces unleashed an aerial and ground blitz against Hamas in Gaza after a cross-border rampage by the enclave’s ruling militant Islamist group on Oct. 7.

RELATED STORY

Israel keeps bombarding Gaza, even areas it calls safe zones for Palestinians