Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 42,344

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 42,344, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 55 people and wounded 329 others, bringing the injuries to 99,013 since the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out in early October 2023, it added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Monday that IDF troops are continuing operations throughout the Gaza Strip, killing militants in close-quarters encounters and in aerial strikes.

Meanwhile, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli army during a military operation in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Monday, according to Palestinian medical sources.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan pose a real obstacle to normal exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese mainland and the Taiwan region, said Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, on Wednesday.

Chen made the statement at a press conference in Beijing to denounce a claim from Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council regarding Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's speech on Oct 10. Despite the fact that Lai's separatist-minded speech reveals his intention for "Taiwan independence" and does nothing to ease cross-Strait tensions, the council still asserted that the speech conveyed a "goodwill" and "hopes" for healthy exchanges between the two sides.

"Lai Ching-te stubbornly maintains a separatist stance for 'Taiwan independence', continuously promoting the new 'two states' theory based on 'mutual non-subordination'. He attempts to seek 'equal exchanges' while denying the premise that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. Lai's words are merely a tactic to mislead public opinion and shows no goodwill at all," Chen said in lashing out at the claim of so-called "goodwill" at the press conference.

In addition, Chen noted that the DPP uses "national security" as an excuse to severely hinder normalization of cross-Strait exchange.

"In fact, the DPP authorities have used various means to obstruct and limit cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation for their own selfish interests for some time. They have used so-called 'national security concerns' as a weapon to hinder normal interactions between people from both sides, largely staging 'green terror' on the island and restricting the public's freedom to travel to the mainland. The DPP authorities are a real barrier to normalizing across-Strait interaction and collaboration," Chen said.