The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has now reached 40,405, said the Gaza-based health authorities in a statement released on Sunday.
The number of injured has risen to 93,468 since the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, according to the health authorities.
The health authorities also reported a devastating toll from the past 24 hours, with 71 lives lost and 112 people injured due to ongoing Israeli military operations.
On Sunday, Hezbollah in Lebanon launched large-scale operation against Israel, which Hamas hailed as "a slap in the face" for the Israeli government, according to a statement.
Meanwhile, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the Israeli side is still dragging its feet on the ceasefire talks.
A Hamas delegation arrived in Egypt on Saturday to for results of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Cairo, which focused on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip, providing relief to the displaced, a fair exchange of detainees and many other topics.
The Hamas official noted that the group would not accept discussions to abandon UN Security Council's July 2 resolution on the Gaza ceasefire and detainee release, nor would they accept the imposition of new conditions.
Hamas has reaffirmed its commitment to that resolution for many times, urging the international community to pressure Israel into complying with the agreement and cease obstructing its implementation.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 40,405 as Israeli attacks continue
The 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opened in Beijing on Friday morning with hotspots around the world and security cooperation taking the center stage.
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 600 official representatives from over 100 countries and international organizations, including nearly 300 heads of official delegations and officials from various countries. The forum is held with the theme of "Promoting Peace for a shared future".
China's Defense Minister Dong Jun attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. He first read out a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping to the forum. Then, he mentioned in his speech the current hot issues including the Ukrainian crisis and the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.
Dong said "there is no winner in a war and a conflict, and there is no way out if we just confront each other." He also stressed that promoting peace talks is the only way out, and the fundamental way out.
Two plenary sessions were held after the opening ceremony. At the first session, participants exchanged views on "security cooperation and prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region", and official representatives from Vietnam, Singapore, Pakistan, Fiji, Russia and Malaysia spoke at the meeting.
The theme of the second plenary session was "multipolarization and the direction of international order", and defense ministers or military generals from six countries including Cambodia, Tanzania, Cameroon and Iran delivered speeches.
The topics all focus on security hotspots. Participants include not only developing and developed countries, but also representatives, experts and scholars from the closely-watched countries such as the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.
In interviews, many participants said that the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is committed to promoting dialog, exchanges and cooperation among defense agencies, militaries and international organizations of various countries, and is playing an active role in promoting regional security and stability and maintaining world peace and development.
The ongoing Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which runs until Saturday, will also hold eight parallel group sessions, focusing on themes such as the correct way for China and the United States to get along, European security trends and Middle East peace vision. This year, a new session on outer space security has been set up for participants to jointly discuss issues on outer space security governance.
Initiated in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is a high-level security and defense forum in the Asia-Pacific with significant international influence.
11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum opens with focus on hotspots, security cooperation
