Overseas passengers arrive in numbers at West Kowloon Station for Canton Fair

West Kowloon Station in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, is seeing large numbers of overseas passengers arriving for the upcoming Canton Fair.

The 138th Canton Fair is scheduled to begin Oct 15 in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, featuring an import exhibition area of 30,000 square meters.

"I'm from Poland, BS Trading. Purpose to China is looking for new products and purchasing products. And normally we go two times a year. So I'm very positive about China," said a Polish businessman.

The comfortable and convenient high-speed rail and the fast customs clearance are handling the uptick in passenger traffic.

"We are from Russia and intend to buy keyboards and earphones. We participate in the Canton Fair every year and have found a very good business partner," said a trader.

"It is expected that during this autumn's Canton Fair, the number of foreign visitors will increase 30 percent compared with last year. To properly handle the peak flow of foreign tourists, the border inspection station at West Kowloon has set up a designated area and lane for foreigners, and dispatched officers fluent in foreign languages to provide on-site services, offering efficient and smooth customs clearance services to the merchants," said Jiang Jiang, officer at the West Kowloon Border Inspection Station under the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.

By Saturday, West Kowloon Station had recorded over 100 million inbound and outbound foreign passenger crossings this year, achieving this milestone 59 days earlier than last year and marking a 33 percent year-over-year rise.

Overseas passengers arrive in numbers at West Kowloon Station for Canton Fair

Israeli forces have launched fresh strikes across multiple areas of the Gaza Strip, with local sources reporting civilian casualties and a further worsening of the humanitarian crisis.

According to Gaza's Civil Defense, the Israeli artillery strike on Friday evening in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City has killed five local residents, including children. The strike brought the number of Palestinians killed since the October ceasefire to around 400.

"A classroom at the displacement site, where five families were sheltering, was targeted. I was inside when the walls collapsed on us during the strike. I was trapped under the rubble along with my grandson, who was injured. After the bombing, I tried to get up and managed to get out of the place. There were many dead and body parts everywhere," recalled Ismail Al-Barsh, an eyewitness of the attack.

Abu Hamza Affana, an ambulance director who took part in the rescue operation, said Israeli forces repeatedly obstructed emergency efforts.

"When ambulance crews first responded to the distress call, the Israeli army opened fire, forcing us to withdraw due to the continued shooting and shelling of the school. After we were later allowed to proceed, we reached the site and dealt with the casualties," he said.

The Israeli military said the incident is under investigation.

The attacks came as displaced families grapple with severe weather and growing shortages of shelter and basic supplies, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

Local sources said that as a powerful storm swept through the region recently, at least 13 Palestinian children died due to shortages of essential supplies and medical services.

Gaza humanitarian crisis worsens as Israeli strikes continue