Latest Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill more than ten Palestinians

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued their airstrikes across multiple areas of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, resulting in more than ten deaths of Palestinian civilians, including children, while the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) reported intense clashes with the Israeli military.

Over the past 72 hours, the Israeli military struck more than 150 targets in Gaza, including the sites where armed personnel were gathering, the buildings used by militant groups and other infrastructure, said a statement from the IDF.

According to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA, an Israeli airstrike hit a group of civilians in Gaza City in the north on Thursday afternoon, killing seven people and injuring several others. Later in the evening, another Israeli airstrike targeted a store in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, claiming the lives of four people, including two young girls, and injuring at least 27 more.

In the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, Israeli airstrikes destroyed a house, resulting in the deaths of three people.

Meanwhile, Hamas claimed that its fighters engaged in heavy battles with Israeli soldiers near the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a military base on Thursday to inspect the training of reserve forces, which are preparing for an expanded military operation in Gaza.

Netanyahu said that the Israeli military was gearing up for a strong operation with two key objectives: the complete defeat and elimination of Hamas, as well as the rescue of Israeli hostages held by the group.

According to multiple media reports, the Israeli government closed six UN-operated schools in East Jerusalem on Thursday, and about 800 Palestinian school-age children are now at risk of missing their education due to the closure. These six schools are all operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education condemned the Israeli action on Thursday, calling it a violation of children's right to education.

The ministry called on international organizations, particularly the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), to defend the children's right to education and to pressure Israel into reversing its decision.

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip had risen to 52,760, with 119,264 others injured since the outbreak of the latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict in early October 2023, according to a statement released Thursday by Gaza-based health authorities.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 20 pips to 7.0108 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.