Severe hunger crisis in Gaza causes widespread malnutrition

A severe hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip, exacerbated by Israel's blockade of aid supplies, has caused widespread malnutrition, leaving both adults and children struggling desperately for survival. Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is overwhelmed with malnutrition patients, who lie in beds without adequate treatment and even basic food supplies.

"Malnutrition has weakened me so much that I can no longer turn over by myself. My eyesight has deteriorated. Now my mother and siblings help me, before, I used to do everything on my own," said Rafiq Jadallah, a patient.

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Severe hunger crisis in Gaza causes widespread malnutrition

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Severe hunger crisis in Gaza causes widespread malnutrition

Many child patients were suffering insufficient medicines and food shortage, and when they cry from hunger, their parents could only feed them with water.

"My son is suffering from malnutrition due to the lack of food in Gaza. We have absolutely nothing here, no medicine, no IV (intravenous) fluids, no fruits, no milk. Nothing at all. We are truly living a catastrophe. In Gaza, we are dying," said Soha Al-Dabbas, mother of a child patient.

"My daughters used to be healthy, but starvation has made their ribs visible and their stomachs sunken. I cry for them constantly. They ask me, 'Mama, we want to eat,' but there's no food. I give them water, and they go to sleep hungry," said Maryam Kafarna, mother of child patients.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.