Gaza's paracycling team helps distribute food to displaced people in Rafah

A paracycling team based in Gaza is stepping up to help those in need by distributing food parcels to displaced people in Rafah as the conflict between Hamas and Israel rages on.

Long before the current conflict erupted between Israel and Hamas, a paracycling team based in Gaza dreamed of competing at the Paralympic Games in Paris this summer. Made up of amputees who never let their disabilities stand in the way of achievement, the team took on an entirely new challenge after October 7 of last year. Their days are now filled in service to their community.

On the side of the road in the Tal Al-Sultan area, west of Rafah, a group of amputees set up a simple tent where the young men gather and work on packing food parcels to be distributed to displaced people in the camps. The group named themselves the Sunbirds.

Hazem Suleiman lost his left leg in an Israeli bombing on his neighborhood in Gaza City a few months ago. One of his long-time hobbies was riding bicycles. So instead of giving up, Suleiman decided to volunteer with the Sunbirds, and began using his bicycle to help distribute food parcels.

"We started this team from scratch. Despite the pain we are experiencing, with our positive energy, we were able to practice our hobby of cycling. We look forward to continuing this so that we can participate in international races and championships," Suleiman said.

They gather every day and prepare whatever goods they manage to buy to distribute.

Abdul Hakim Awad said they feel a sense of social responsibility to help the people of Rafah, and they will continue this initiative despite its challenges.

"In light of these circumstances and challenges facing our people, it is our duty as a sports team to help our Palestinian society. We distribute food parcels to those in need, in addition to continuing our practice of cycling in parallel with the volunteer work that we do," said Awad.

Conditions for all Palestinians in Gaza have deteriorated and emergency medical care in Gaza has been stretched and exhausted by the conflict. Many amputees are still fighting for their own lives and struggling to get treatment in the few hospitals that are still functioning.

"Our house was bombed at the beginning of the war, and we were displaced. I went to the Kuwaiti square area to get aid. Unfortunately, I returned wounded by nine bullets from Israeli snipers, which caused the amputation of one foot and injury to the other foot, in addition to a gunshot wound in my hand," said Rahim Ayoubi, one of the amputees.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society estimated at the end of last year that about 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, had lost one or more limbs due to the war.

Gaza's paracycling team helps distribute food to displaced people in Rafah

China urges the United States to earnestly act on its commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence," a State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman said on Wednesday.

Chen Binhua, the spokesman, made the statement at a regular press conference in Beijing in response to the recent Taiwan-related remarks made by Mark Lambert, U.S. State Department China Coordinator and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.

"There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. International legal instruments such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation have all confirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan. In 1971, the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority, which decided to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China in the United Nations and to recognize the government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations. Once and for all, the resolution resolved, politically, legally and procedurally, the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the United Nations," Chen said.

"The United Nations is an inter-governmental organization that is made up of sovereign states. Taiwan as a part of China has no qualification to join it at all. The Taiwan region's participation in the activities of international organizations must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle," he said.

In recent days, someone from the U.S. have repeatedly make an issue of Resolution 2758, which fully reveals the malicious intention behind in disregard of history, according to Chen.

The U.S. side refuses to comply with international law and the basic norms in international relations and has repeatedly distorted and challenged the authority of UNGA Resolution 2758, which shows that it just turns a blind eye to historical and legal facts and confronts the international community, violating the serious political commitments the U.S. government has made in the three China-U.S. joint communiques, Chen said.

"We urge the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques with practical actions, to earnestly act on its commitment of not supporting 'Taiwan independence', and to stop sending any wrong signal to the separatist forces," said the spokesman.

China urges U.S. to honor commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence": spokesman