Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 61,722

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 61,722, with 154,525 injured since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted in 2023, Gaza's health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli attacks on the enclave killed 123 people and wounded 437 others. Twenty-one people were killed and 185 others injured when attempting to get aid, according to the statement.

Also on Wednesday, Gaza-based health authorities reported eight more deaths from famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including three children, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths to 235, including 106 children.

Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir on Wednesday approved the main framework of a government plan to expand the offensive in Gaza to areas not yet under Israeli control.

The offensive will target refugee camps in central Gaza and the southern area of Al Mawasi, where most of Gaza's 2.2 million residents have taken shelter, according to a statement issued by the Israeli military.

The principles of the plan were approved in a meeting of security officials earlier on Wednesday, the statement said, adding that "the central concept for the plan for the next stages in the Gaza Strip was presented and approved, in accordance with the directive of the political echelon."

Zamir's approval came three days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to enter the "decisive stage" of the Gaza war, aimed at seizing the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City, refugee camps in central Gaza, and the southern area of Al Mawasi. The order, issued while Gaza is suffering a worsening humanitarian crisis, has been widely condemned internationally.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told a press briefing on Wednesday that Israel rejects a two-state solution and "will not allow" the establishment of a Palestinian state.

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.