The Israeli army announced on Thursday to resume ground operations in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip, forcing residents of Beit Lahiya city and the surrounding areas to flee their homes
After a two-month ceasefire, the Israeli army resumed large-scale air strikes and ground operations in the Gaza Strip. The airstrikes had killed at least 710 people and injured 900 others, said a spokesman from Gaza health authorities on Thursday.
Thursday's announcement, following an earlier announcement on Wednesday about the undergoing ground operations in the central and southern parts of the region, marks that the Israeli army would go into ground operations that cover the whole Gaza Strip.
"There was a lot of shelling around us, and there were people killed. The children were extremely terrified, so we left in a hurry without a clear destination," said Reem Naim, a displaced Palestinian at the al-Shati refugee camp.
The new round of attacks have forced thousands of Palestinians from northern parts of Gaza, mainly the cities of Beit Anun and Beit Lahiya, to flee the Gaza City, fearing that the Israeli operations might sweep through their hometown.
"Fear gripped us before we left our homes, and even here in this camp, there's still fear. We were displaced from Beit Hanoun and have moved between displacement sites more than ten times," said Ramzia Qasim, another Palestinian at the camp.
As Israeli military operations are underway, the number of deaths and injuries in the Gaza Strip has kept surging, with almost half of them being women and children.
Israel resumes ground operations in northern Gaza, forcing thousands to flee
The momentum of improvement in China-Japan relations has not come easily, and it is particularly important to maintain the political foundation of relations between the two countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Tokyo on Saturday.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo.
As close neighbors, relationship between China and Japan holds significance that goes beyond bilateral scope, Wang noted, saying the two sides should face up to history and look to the future, maintain the right direction of bilateral relations, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, promote steady and long-term bilateral relations, and contribute to peace and prosperity of the two countries and Asia.
Wang stressed that correctly understanding and treating history is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community, political foundation for Japan to develop relations with its neighboring countries, and an important criterion for testing whether Japan can abide by its commitment to peaceful development.
Four political documents between China and Japan have made clear provisions on history and the Taiwan question, which must be strictly implemented, Wang said.
For his part, Iwaya said Japan has long followed the path of peaceful development and attaches great importance to abiding by the four political documents between Japan and China, adding Japan's position on the Taiwan question, based on the Japan-China joint communique in 1972, remains unchanged.
In November last year, leaders of the two countries reached an important consensus on comprehensively advancing the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between Japan and China and building constructive and stable bilateral ties, Iwaya said.
Based on the consensus, the two sides have made efforts to promote the improvement of bilateral relations, he added.
Seeing huge potential for bilateral cooperation, Iwaya said Japan is determined and willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with the Chinese side and further push for more results in cooperation in various fields and bring more benefits to the two peoples.
As the international situation is changing rapidly, Japan and China, as responsible countries, should work together to play a positive role in safeguarding regional peace and stability, Iwaya added.
Maintaining political foundation of China-Japan relations particularly important: Wang Yi
