Palestine rejects Israel's plan to build "buffer zone" in northern Gaza

Palestinian authorities on Wednesday rejected any Israeli plans to establish buffer zones with long-term Israeli military presence in the northern Gaza Strip, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, official spokesman for the Palestinian presidency, said in a statement carried by WAFA that the talk about the so-called establishment of a buffer zone in northern Gaza Strip and Jabalia with long-term Israeli military presence was completely unacceptable and is therefore rejected.

Abu Rudeineh considered the plan to be in violation of all international legitimacy resolutions and international law that consider the Gaza Strip an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory.

On Oct 5, the Israeli army began intense bombardment of areas in the northern Gaza Strip, before launching a large-scale military operation there, especially Jabalia. The Israeli army says its operation in Jabalia and its surroundings aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping to launch more attacks, and create conditions for its plan of building the buffer zone to "distribute aid through a private American company and with foreign funding".

However, the Palestinian spokesman said that any plans related to the future of the Gaza Strip or the distribution of aid can only be done through the State of Palestine and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as other relevant international organizations.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since October last year has risen to 43,985, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.

Palestine rejects Israel's plan to build "buffer zone" in northern Gaza

Palestine rejects Israel's plan to build "buffer zone" in northern Gaza

Palestine rejects Israel's plan to build "buffer zone" in northern Gaza

Palestine rejects Israel's plan to build "buffer zone" in northern Gaza

Palestine rejects Israel's plan to build "buffer zone" in northern Gaza

The Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) entered a new phase of marine construction on Monday morning, marked by the completion of the east tower's piling work of the Liuwudian Channel Bridge, a pivotal component of the project, in Xiamen of Fujian Province in east China.

The Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) spans 17.34 km and is designed to link the Xiamen island with the Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport that is currently under construction. The Liuwudian Channel Bridge is the province's first offshore suspension bridge and largest span bridge with a total length of 1,948 meters and a main span of 928 meters in length.

The pile foundation of the east bridge tower was completed on Monday after four months of work, while that of the west one is expected to finish at the end of this month.

Confronted with complex geological conditions and the challenge of transporting materials to the offshore construction site, the team newly built a large-scale mixing station and employed six rotary drilling rigs which operated around the clock.

With a total investment of 37.27 billion yuan (about 5.12 billion U.S. dollars), the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) will become the most efficient connection between the Xiamen island and the Xiang'an Airport. Once completed, it will ease traffic congestion and greatly enhance transport efficiency in the region.

The Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) started construction in October 2023, and is expected to be completed simultaneously with the Xiang'an Airport Expressway in 2026.

Kinmen is an important hub for interaction across the Taiwan Strait. Growing trade and commercial links between Kinmen and Xiamen have made the building of the bridge a common desire of many people in the region.

Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge enters marine construction stage