Gaza faces unprecedented destruction, humanitarian crisis: media office

Israeli military operations have left Gaza Strip facing its worst structural damage and humanitarian crisis in modern history, the Hamas-run media office in Gaza said on Thursday.

In a statement, the media office said that Israeli operations have generated roughly 70 million tons of rubble and left around 20,000 unexploded munitions scattered across the enclave.

Efforts to remove the wreckage have been severely hindered by Israel’s ban on the entry of heavy machinery and equipment, coupled with the ongoing closure of all crossings, leaving recovery work virtually impossible, the statement said.

The office urged the international community to fulfill its legal and humanitarian obligations by pressing Israel to immediately reopen the crossings and enable the start of clearing the massive debris and rubble.

Since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023, Israeli air strikes and ground attacks have devastated the enclave, causing famine and displacement, and killing at least 67,967 people and injuring 170,179 others, according to figures released by Gaza-based health authorities on Thursday.

On October 9, Hamas and Israel agreed on the "first phase" of a 20-point peace plan, which includes a ceasefire and the release of some hostages and prisoners, marking a major breakthrough in the two-year conflict.

The ceasefire plan was proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump and was under the auspices of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 82 pips to 6.9223 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.