Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 39,897: ministry

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 39,897, the health authorities in the besieged enclave said on Monday.

A total of 92,152 people had been wounded in Gaza since the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October, the health authorities said in a statement.

The statement said that in the past 48 hours, the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip resulted in 142 deaths and 150 injuries.

The Israel Defense Forces announced on the same day that an Israeli soldier died in a military operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Since the conflict broke out on Oct 7 last year, 690 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 4,306 injured.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer jointly signed a joint statement on Monday, agreeing to resume ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

The statement called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of Israeli personnel detained by Hamas, and the unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The statement said that the three countries are highly concerned about the escalation of tensions in the region, and called on Iran and its allies not to launch any attacks that may escalate the situation.

The Palestinian presidency issued a statement on Saturday condemning the Israeli attack earlier in the day on a school used to shelter displaced Gazans, and urging the United States to stop favoring Israel. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that Israel's killing of displaced Palestinian civilians is a serious crime, and he called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to cease fire immediately.

Israeli warplanes targeted the Al-Taba'een School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City while the displaced people in the school were performing the Fajr prayer, killing at least 100 Palestinians and injuring dozens more, Palestinian medical and security sources said, adding that the victims included women and children.

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 39,897: ministry

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Monday led a central delegation on a visit to Shihezi, a city under the 8th Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), met local people and carried out inspections.

He led the delegation on a visit to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Reclamation Museum, which shows China's revolutionary undertaking of building the city of Shihezi and reclaiming land for farming in what was once a sparsely-populated desert. At the museum, He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, pointed out that people must carry forward the Corps' spirit, understand the connotations of the times, put resources related to the Party's heritage to great use, and pass down revolutionary traditions.

He said that the Corps should draw motivation from its own seven-decade history, and encourage officials and workers to stay dedicated to working and serving in Xinjiang, and make new and greater contributions.

At Xinjiang Tianye (Group), a state-owned enterprise which is affiliated to the XPCC, He listened to reports on the company's technological innovation and new industrialization development.

The vice premier said that the Corps should adhere to innovation-driven development, develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, and accelerate a high-end, intelligent and green transition.

He urged the Corps to focus on clean and efficient use of coal, prioritize environmental protection and energy conservation, strengthen leading enterprises, and work on landmark projects in the modern coal chemical industry, to cultivate new momentum for industrial science and technology in pursuit of high-quality development.

Chinese vice premier urges promotion of Xinjiang's high-quality development during inspection tour in Shihezi