The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 50,933, with 116,045 injured from Israeli military operations since October 7, 2023, according to a statement issued by Gaza health authorities on Saturday.
In the past 24 hours, 21 bodies and 64 injured individuals were transported to health facilities across Gaza, as reported in Saturday's statement.
Since Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18, which led to the collapse of a two-month ceasefire, 1,563 Palestinians have been killed and 4,004 injured.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that Israel will soon expand its operations to most of the Gaza Strip territory. He also told Gaza residents in a message that they have to evacuate due to the expected operations.
Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced in a statement that it had fully encircled southern Gaza's Rafah city by completing the establishment of the "Morag Corridor," a route in the south of the strip intended to separate Rafah and Khan Younis. Hamas has yet to respond to this claim.
The IDF also said it intercepted three rockets fired from the southern Gaza Strip into Israel on Saturday, with no casualties reported so far.
Hamas said on Saturday that it is positive about any Gaza ceasefire proposal that guarantees a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Hamas said that such a proposal must also ensure an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people and include a serious prisoner exchange deal.
A Hamas delegation headed to Cairo on Saturday at the invitation of Egypt. While in Cairo, they are expected to meet with mediators from Qatar and Egypt, as part of ongoing efforts to reach an agreement and halt Israeli attacks in Gaza, it added.
Meanwhile, a report released by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Saturday shows that as of April 8 this year, 289 of its team members had been killed over the course of the year-and-a-half-long conflict.
The report also stated that, as of March 25 this year, 311 UNRWA facilities had been affected by the conflict, some on multiple occasions. At least 742 people who had taken refuge in the agency's facilities were killed, and more than 2,409 were injured, according to UNRWA.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 50,933
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 50,933
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 50,933
