The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,272, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 20 people and wounded 54 others, bringing the fatalities to 41,272 and injuries to 95,551 since this round of conflict broke out in early October 2023, it added.
Gaza’s civil defense agency reported on Wednesday that eight persons, including five children, were killed when Israeli bombed a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City in the northern part of the war-ridden enclave, which also caused many injuries.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the airstrike targeted Hamas militants hidden inside the school.
In addition, an Israeli drone struck a civilian car in Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 11 others, according to Palestinian security sources.
Israel announced on the same day that four more soldiers were killed in clashes in Rafah.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 41,272 as conflict grinds on
China's commodity price index stood at 129.9 points in March, up 4 percent month on month and 14.5 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.
Among the 50 major commodities under key monitoring by the CFLP, 38 recorded a month-on-month price increase in March.
Specifically, diesel, methanol and ethylene glycol led the gains, rising 30.5 percent, 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the previous month.
Affected by imported factors such as tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, China's energy and chemical price indices rose significantly, up 16.5 percent and 21.8 percent month on month, respectively.
Driven by rising international fertilizer prices and growing demand for biofuels, China's agricultural product price index increased by 2.8 percent month on month.
Analysts noted that the sharp rise in the commodity price index in March comes from factors such as the recovery of the domestic commodity market, the good outcomes of policies, and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
Given the increasingly volatile international commodity prices and the rising uncertainties in importing energy, chemicals and other commodities, it is necessary to diversify the sources of raw materials, expand the use of alternative resources, and enhance the ability to resist and respond to risky factors that may cause fluctuation in markets, said the analysts.
China's commodity price index up 4 pct in March
