Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 40,000 as peace talks renew

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had surpassed 40,000 as of Thursday, at a time when the Gaza ceasefire talks were set to resume in Qatar.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 40 people and wounded 107 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,005 and injuries to 92,401 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, Gaza-based health authorities said Thursday in a statement.

There are still many victims under the rubble and on the roads, with ambulance and civil defense crews unable to reach them, it added.

It took only five and a half months for the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip to rise from 30,000 to 40,000.

According to an official, talks aimed at achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement for the release of hostages have begun in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

It is expected that David Barnea, chief of Israel's Mossad spy agency, will join representatives from the United States and Egypt, along with the Qatari Prime Minister, in the talks.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 40,000 as peace talks renew

The Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Sunday released a short video of its combat training activities, showing the PLA is ready for operations at all times.

The video was released a day before the theater command organized its troops of army, navy, air force and rocket force to conduct "Joint Sword-2024B" drills in the Taiwan Strait and the north, south and east of the island of Taiwan.

Li Xi, the spokesperson for the theater command, said the drills involve vessels and planes closing in on the island from multiple directions and assaults by joint forces.

The drills focus on joint sea-air combat readiness patrol, the blockade and control of key ports and areas, strikes on sea and land targets, and the seizure of comprehensive battlefield control, so as to test the joint real-combat capabilities of the forces of the command, Li said.

The drills are a powerful deterrent to the separatist activities of "Taiwan independence" elements, and are legitimate and necessary actions to safeguard national sovereignty and national unity, Li said.

PLA releases short video on combat training activities