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.

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.