GAZA CITY, March 18 (MENA) - The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip since the early hours of Tuesday has risen to 412 with 500 reportedly injured.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital Dr. Khalil al-Daqran said - in a televised statement - that the Israeli occupation army committed numerous massacres in all governorates of the Gaza Strip, targeting peaceful civilians in their homes and also targeting tents of displaced Palestinians.

The spokesman pointed out to the horrific injuries sustained by Palestinian civilians as a result of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, explaining that most of the injuries were in the head and chest, in addition to a large number suffering from third-degree burns.

Darqan said doctors, paramedics and nursing staff are working under exceptionally difficult conditions due to the massive number of injured, especially with most hospitals out of service and in shortage of medical supplies, equipment and medicines needed to treat the wounded and those with "serious" injuries.

He added that the Israeli occupation has violated all humanitarian protocols regarding the entry of aid, equipment and medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.

Only 17% of the sick and wounded were allowed to leave the Strip for treatment and only 20% of the medical supplies were allowed to enter, said the spokesman.

He called on the international community to support the medical sector by pressuring Israel to allow the immediate entry of medicines and medical supplies. He said there are still many martyrs and injured under the rubble, with civil defense crews and ambulances unable to retrieve the bodies due to a lack of the heavy equipment needed to lift and remove the rubble of destroyed homes. (MENA)

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