Two J-20 fighters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force escorted the Y-20 military transport aircraft carrying the remains of 43 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) soldiers on its way back home from South Korea, paying deep respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the 1950-1953 War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, also known as the Korean War. Under the escort of the two J-20 fighters, the Y-20 aircraft carrying the remains and 495 items of personal belongings of the fallen soldiers landed at an airport in Shenyang, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, where it was greeted with a water salute.
The remains will be laid to rest in a martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang after a ceremony on Friday. This marks the 11th repatriation of CPV martyrs' remains since the signing of a handover agreement between China and South Korea.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force issued an insignia for this mission, with the caption below the insignia posted on the Y-20 military aircraft windshield reading: "The Chinese Air Force brings you back home."
Since 2014, the remains of 981 CPV soldiers who fell in action in the war have been handed over to China, their home country.
About 74 years ago, the CPV crossed the Yalu River and fought alongside the army and civilians of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. After an arduous fight that lasted almost three years, the CPV eventually won the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. More than 197,000 CPV soldiers were confirmed killed in the war.
J-20 fighters escort aircraft carrying remains of volunteer soldiers back home, honoring their sacrifice
Heavy winter rains and rising tides have worsened the plight of displaced Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, with families on the beach west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza losing their homes to the floodwaters and struggling to find shelter and basic necessities.
Umm Ahmed, a displaced resident, recounted how rising waves nearly drowned her children and destroyed their tent and belongings, leaving her family without shelter.
"Our children (girls) were covered by water. Our tent is destroyed. Everything is gone. We are here by the sea, the tent fell on us. The waves rose and the water rushed in. Our neighbors took our children to their tents in higher places. Since the morning, my son and I have been taking all our belongings out of the tent. There are no clothes left for the children, no bedding, no clothes. There is no place for us. We had moved to the beach. Where do we go now? May God punish Israelis for what they did to us. They tortured us, we can't sleep. We can't even settle. We have no food nor drink. The prices are very high. Our children go to sleep hungry. [We can only say:] Thank God for everything," she said.
Jamil Dhahir, another displaced resident, lamented the dire conditions where his family, separated when fleeing the waves, is now struggling with illness, lack of sleep and uncertainty about where to go next.
"They told us to move to this 'safe area', and as you can see, we were all harmed. Where do we go? We were in the camp east of Khan Younis before and later moved here. Where shall we go next? Our children and women are all sick. We haven't slept since yesterday. We fled the waves at night and the children went with their mothers to another camp to the east of here, while I stayed here," he said.
In a social media post on Monday, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the recent rains have already caused immense hardship for Gazans, with a half million people at risk of flooding.
"The situation will only get worse with every drop of rain, every bomb, every strike," the agency said.
According to a statement released Wednesday by Gaza-based health authorities, the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza had risen to 44,282, with 104,880 injured.
Winter rains compound suffering for displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza
