Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 40,602

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip mounted to 40,602, the health authorities in the besieged enclave said in a statement released on Thursday.

The number of injured has risen to 93,855 in Gaza since the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, according to the statement.

The health authorities also reported heavy casualties during the past 24 hours, with 68 lives lost and 77 people injured due to ongoing Israeli military attacks.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to halt hostilities in the Gaza Strip for a World Health Organization (WHO)-led polio vaccination campaign, a WHO official said on Thursday.

Rik Peeperkorn, head of the WHO office for the West Bank and Gaza, told reporters in a video briefing that the UN health agency, the Hamas health ministry and the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, known as UNRWA, would launch the campaign on Sunday.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that 80 percent of the tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor had been destroyed. Hamas has not responded yet.

The Philadelphi Corridor, spanning 14 kilometers in length and several hundred meters in width, was established following the return of the Sinai Peninsula from Israel to Egypt in 1982, as stipulated by the peace agreements between the two countries.

It was under Israeli supervision until 2005 when the IDF left the Gaza Strip, and its control passed to the Palestinian Authority. After two years, Hamas took over the corridor until the current conflict.

Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 40,602

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will organize Chinese Military Culture Week in Brazil later this month, Chinese Defense Military spokesman Wu Qian said on Saturday.

"According to relevant work plans, the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission will send a PLA delegation on international communication to Brazil in late September to organize a Chinese Military Culture Week (CMCW). Under the theme of 'Safeguarding Peace for a Shared Future,' relevant activities will be held in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, including policy dialogue, picture exhibition, military band performance, and China Day cultural exchange. The CMCW is intended to illustrate the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, elaborate the three major initiatives (the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative), and demonstrate the fine traditional Chinese military culture and the culture of building a strong military in the new era. It will enhance China-Brazil strategic mutual trust and traditional friendship, and step up cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the two countries," Wu said.

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. Exchange activities between the two militaries, such as high-level interactions, joint exercises and training, personnel training and multilateral cooperation, have deepened and enriched the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Brazil," said Wu.

PLA to organize Chinese Military Culture Week in Brazil