GAZA, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Inside a modest tent in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Mohammed Saad sits surrounded by thousands of books that survived the war.He picks up a book, gently wipes the dust from its cover, and flips through its pages before placing it among rows of novels, historical works, scientific publications and philosophical books.For Saad, 58, this is more than sorting books. It is an attempt to bring back to life a part of his world that he thought had been buried beneath the rubble.A father of five, Saad spent 35 years collecting books. Before the war, he owned between 80,000 and 100,000 books in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, some of which he sold in front of the Islamic University in Gaza City.When his home and warehouse were destroyed during the Israeli war on Gaza, he believed his entire collection was gone.About three months ago, he returned to his ruined home and began searching through the debris.I didn't care about my house or my personal belongings, Saad told Xinhua. The first thing I started searching for among the rubble was my books and my library.For weeks, with help from neighbors, he recovered more than 30,000 books and transported them to Deir al-Balah.I couldn't believe I had saved so many books, he said. I truly cried. For me, they are not just books; they represent life, history and happiness.After the books arrived in Deir al-Balah, Saad refused to keep them stacked away, safe from damage but out of readers' reach.Instead, he established al-Athar Library, Arabic for the Impact, a modest space where people can read, buy, or borrow books.I'm not looking for money or material gain, Saad said as he continued dusting and arranging the books. All I want is for these books to reach people so they can read, learn and benefit from them.The library still lacks a proper building, adequate shelves, and suitable storage facilities. Yet readers have begun to arrive.Women and children are among the most interested visito...

TEHRAN/KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed in overnight U.S. strikes across several provinces in Iran, as the country's armed forces retaliated by attacking U.S. bases and assets in the region, Iranian media reported Wednesday.The U.S. attacks on Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province killed seven people and wounded eight others, the semi-official Mehr news agency cited Valiollah Hayati, Khuzestan's deputy governor for security and law enforcement affairs, as saying.The report said U.S. strikes on southern Lavan Island killed three members of the Basij volunteer force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), while four members of the IRGC's Aerospace division were killed in strikes on the western province of Kermanshah.A commando, identified as Malek Mousavi-Tabar, was killed Wednesday morning during operations to counter the movements of an invading drone in Bahmai County in the western Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, it added.It also cited provincial authorities as saying that four people were killed and 68 others wounded in a U.S. attack targeting a wedding ceremony in Sirik County in southern Hormozgan province. The victims included one four-year-old child, a teenager and two women.In a post on social media platform X earlier in the day, U.S. Central Command said its forces had successfully completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, citing recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members.In retaliation for the U.S. strikes, Iran's IRGC and army announced that they targeted U.S. bases and assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).In statements published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its forces shot down a hostile U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone and launched ballistic missiles toward Camp Titin in ...

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi welcomed the renewal of a bilateral local currency swap agreement and the expansion of the swap amount, said a joint statement on Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran and the United States traded strikes after the U.S. military attacked Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, with Tehran saying it had begun a retaliatory response described as crushing and shattering blows against the United States.The IRGC said Tuesday night that it had started its regret-inducing response to U.S. strikes earlier in the day.In a statement published on its official outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its air defense had shot down a hostile U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, while its aerospace forces had launched ballistic missile strikes on U.S. bases and assets in the region.The IRGC said its response came after U.S. strikes on southern Iranian provinces earlier in the day.The semi-official Fars news agency, citing local officials, reported that at least four people, including a child and a woman, were killed and more than 50 others were wounded in a U.S. strike on a wedding ceremony in Sirik County, Hormozgan Province.Iranian state media later reported that a U.S. missile attack on three locations in Khuzestan Province killed seven people and injured eight others, bringing the reported death toll from the strikes to at least 11.Several explosions were heard on Tuesday evening in southern Iran after the U.S. Central Command announced strikes on IRGC targets. Iranian media reported explosions in parts of Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Kerman, and Bushehr provinces, including Konarak and areas near Qeshm Island, though the locations and causes remained unclear.The IRGC said the U.S. strikes targeted facilities including a fish powder factory on Qeshm Island, a fishing pier and a port authority tower in Sirik.IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi warned that a harsh punishment awaited the aggressors.Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the country's main military command, said the armed forces would respond to U.S. air aggression.In a post on social media platform X, the U.S. Central Command said ...

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