Thousands of Palestinians fled the north of the Gaza Strip on Saturday from the path of an expected Israeli ground assault, while Israel pounded the area with more air strikes and said it would keep two roads open to let people escape. Israel has vowed to annihilate the Palestinian Hamas group that controls Gaza in retaliation for a rampage by fighters, who stormed through Israeli towns a week ago, gunning civilians down and making off with scores of hostages. Some 1,300 people were killed in the worst attack on civilians in Israel’s history. Israeli forces have since put the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under a total siege and bombarded it with unprecedented air strikes. Gaza authorities say more than 2,200 people have been killed, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. Israel had given the entire population of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes the enclave’s biggest settlement Gaza City, until Saturday morning to move south. As that deadline approached it said it would guarantee the safety of Palestinians fleeing on two main roads until 4:00 pm. (1300 GMT). Israel’s military says it is preparing for the “next stages of the war” against Hamas, which could include “strikes from the air, sea and land” with “significant ground operations.” In addition to the “combined and coordinated strikes,” the Israeli Ground Forces and the military’s logistics leadership are preparing IDF troops for an “expanded arena of combat,” the statement said. Relevant forces have received the equipment they need for combat in recent days, the military said. “IDF battalions and soldiers are deployed across the country and are increasing operational readiness for the next stages of the war, with an emphasis on significant ground operations,” the statement read. Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Mai Al-Kaila blamed Israel for killing 28 health care workers and damaging medical centers in a statement on Saturday. “On the eighth day of the ongoing Israeli aggression, 15 medical centers have been damaged due to Israeli bombardment, and Beit Hanoun Hospital and Al-Durrah Children’s Hospital have stopped providing services,” Al-Kaila said. “28 healthcare workers have been martyred, and dozens have been injured, and 23 ambulances have been damaged and rendered inoperable.” Al-Kaila urged all international human rights organizations to provide urgent protection for hospitals, treatment centers, ambulances, health personnel and the sick and wounded who are exposed daily to bombings. Al-Kaila also pointed out “the Israeli occupation forces daily threaten to evacuate hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which is a clear threat to the lives of hundreds of patients and wounded individuals.” The minister also said Al-Durrah Children’s Hospital was evacuated Friday after being targeted with internationally prohibited white phosphorus bombs, and Beit Hanoun Hospital has also ceased operations due to Israeli bombardment. More than 700 children have been killed in Gaza and another 2,450 have been injured since last Saturday, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, citing local sources. “According to the latest reports by local health authorities and media, at least 2,215 Palestinians were reportedly killed, including over 700 children, and more than 8,714 people wounded, including more than 2,450 children,” UNICEF spokeswoman Sara Al Hattab told CNN on Saturday. The Saturday figures are an update to UNICEF’s Friday statement, which said “hundreds & hundreds of children have been killed and injured,” noting the number rises every hour. “The killing of children must stop,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said. “The images and stories are clear: children with horrendous burns, mortar wounds, and lost limbs. And hospitals are utterly overwhelmed to treat them.” Elder joined calls from the international community saying, “Israeli children being held hostage in Gaza must be safely and immediately reunited with their families and loved ones.”