Palestinian economy remains in deep recession amid Gaza collapse: report

The Palestinian economy has continued to suffer a deep recession in 2025, according to a joint report released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Palestine Monetary Authority.

The report highlighted a staggering 84 percent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in the Gaza Strip compared to 2023, describing economic activity there as on the verge of "complete collapse." Meanwhile, the West Bank's economy shrank by 13 percent.

Unemployment in Gaza has surged to over 77 percent, according to the report.

As the New Year holiday is drawing near, more and more people in China are choosing to celebrate the arrival of 2026 with travel.

According to umetrip, a Chinese travel-related mobile service provider, the flight booking reservations from major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai to popular destinations including southern cities like Sanya, Haikou, Kunming, Guangzhou, and northern areas like Changbai Mountain and Harbin have increased significantly on a month-on-month basis for the New Year holiday.

As of Thursday, more than 2.71 million tickets have been booked in domestic routes, about 35 percent higher than that of last year, the data shows.

"Flights from Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Chengdu to Sanya; from Shanghai and Chengdu to Beihai; from Guangzhou and Shanghai to Changbai Mountains; and from Beijing to Kunming have all recorded seat occupancy rates exceeding 70 percent prior to the New Year holiday," said Yu Haiyan, deputy manager of revenue management office with China Southern Airlines' sales department.

Travel bookings for January 2026 show that ice-and-snow trips and warm-weather getaways remain the dominant themes, with their popularity expected to continue through the Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese New Year, which falls in February 2026.

"Air ticket bookings to Harbin, Shenyang, and Yanbian have increased by 18 percent, 36 percent, and 52 percent, respectively, while those for flights to Haikou and Sanya rose by 19 percent and 51 percent, respectively," said Shi Ke, a researcher of the Qunar Big Data Research Institute.