China's top legislator Zhao Leji met with a multi-party delegation from Colombia led by Nicolás Antonio Barguil Cubillos, president of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, on Tuesday in Beijing.
Zhao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said China is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with Colombia, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and continue firm mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns.
China is ready to strengthen exchanges between political parties and legislative bodies, and expand pragmatic cooperation in areas such as jointly building the Belt and Road, Zhao added.
Voicing appreciation for China offering assistance after an earthquake in Colombia, Barguil said better understanding China and enhancing cooperation with China is a shared goal that transcends partisan differences in Colombia.
Colombia firmly supports the one-China principle, Barguil said, adding that the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia is ready to strengthen exchanges with China's NPC to promote the development of bilateral relations.
China's top legislator meets multi-party delegation from Colombia
China's top legislator meets multi-party delegation from Colombia
China's top legislator meets multi-party delegation from Colombia
At least five Palestinians, including three children, were killed late Sunday when a sand embankment collapsed at a displacement camp in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, raising fresh concerns over the perilous living conditions faced by displaced Palestinian families.
The deadly incident was triggered by recent heavy rainfall as the rainy winter season sets in. Several others were injured as large amounts of earth cascaded down, burying their tents. Local authorities warned that the danger remains high in and around these makeshift shelters.
Survivors recounted harrowing scenes of desperation as they scrambled to save their loved ones in the collapse.
"The masses of earth collapsed on us, burying my mother, my children and my sister beneath the tent. I managed to rescue my mother and children from under the sand. I also saved my brother, whose face was completely covered in sand. Thank God, he survived," said Abdel Karim Al-Sahhar, a displaced Palestinian.
However, not everyone was as fortunate. Mustafa Al-Masri, another displaced resident, described the agonizing lack of resources during the rescue efforts.
"When we arrived, we found this huge mass of mud had collapsed onto people. We had no lights or equipment to rescue them, including the children and a pregnant woman. We couldn't help them because we had no rescue equipment. We dug with our bare hands and pulled the children out dead," said Al-Masri.
The tragedy underscores the dire reality for the vast majority of Gaza's two million residents, who continue to live in fragile tent encampments or the ruins of bombed-out buildings.
With large-scale reconstruction yet to begin following Israel's three-year military assault, many families are now bracing for their fourth winter of coping with floodwaters that frequently overtake tents and soak their meager belongings.
Mohammed Abboud, acting head of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, warned that such disasters are likely to recur as long as aid supplies remain severely restricted from entering the besieged strip.
"This is a tragedy that could happen again every day because basic living conditions are lacking. We are talking about camps set up in dangerous areas, facing a harsh winter. The solution is to provide safe places and permanent mobile homes for people here, because tents offer no protection from the winter cold or the summer heat," said Abboud.
Rain-triggered sand embankment collapse kills 5 in central Gaza
Rain-triggered sand embankment collapse kills 5 in central Gaza
