Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 33,175: ministry

The Palestinian death toll in Israeli attacks has risen to 33,175, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Sunday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 38 Palestinians and wounded 71 others, bringing the total death toll to 33,175 and injuries to 75,886 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct 7, 2023, the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, The Times of Israel Sunday quoted an Israeli government official as saying that Israel will send a delegation to Cairo, Egypt, for negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, and Ronen Bar, director of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, reportedly left for Cairo on Sunday afternoon for the talks.

Hamas announced in a statement on Saturday that a delegation of its leaders would travel to Cairo on Sunday for the talks.

The Palestinian militant group stressed that the release of Israeli hostages is conditional on a full ceasefire in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the return of Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel is ready to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, but it will not give in to the "extreme" demands of the group. He stressed that Israel will completely eliminate Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu reiterated that there would be no ceasefire in Gaza without the release of Israeli hostages.

Palestine's Al-Quds Newspaper reported on Sunday that Israel launched a drone attack on the al-Nasr region in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, with the number of casualties not immediately clear. Israel hasn't responded to the report yet.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that Israeli troops had withdrawn from the Khan Younis area in the southern Gaza Strip in preparation for the upcoming offensive in Rafah.

Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), issued a statement on Sunday saying that despite the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the war against Hamas continues and is far from over.

He said that the Israeli military has made significant progress in its military operations in Gaza, but it hasn't fully achieved its goal yet.

Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 33,175: ministry

China’s first intelligent field plant phenotype precision identification platform went into operation recently in Sanya City, south China’s Hainan Province, which is a milestone in the country’s development of intelligent breeding.

The phenotype of a plant is a term used to describe observable characteristics of the plant, such as its appearance, and some inherent physiological characteristics, such as resistance to drought and diseases.

In an experimental field of the National Nanfan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a large piece of equipment is moving across the field. The equipment, called the field plant phenotype precision identification platform, can move according to the preset track and can be remotely controlled. While moving, the equipment can scan the plants with its six sensors, just like a CT machine for plants.

"The ultimate goal is to achieve high-throughput, large-scale, efficient and precise collection of germplasm resources, which can be four to five times higher than the efficiency of the traditional manual collection," said Jin Xiuliang, a researcher at the institute.

Although the equipment looks simple from the outside, it contains six high-precision image acquisition devices such as multi-spectral, thermal infrared, and chlorophyll fluorescence devices. Data can be collected at fixed times and points according to experimental needs, and the collection of a germplasm material can be completed within 30 seconds.

After the data collected through this platform is transmitted to the data analysis center, researchers can more quickly and accurately screen out germplasm resources with excellent traits, laying the foundation for subsequent crop breeding.

"The plant phenotype identification facility at the National Nanfan Research Institute is a milestone in the field of crop science in China. It can greatly enhance the independent innovation capabilities of germplasm innovation, gene mining, and variety breeding, and enhance the international competitiveness of China's seed industry," said Li Huihui, vice president of the institute.  

China makes major progress in smart crop breeding