As the world ushered in 2025, Gazan resident Abu Yousef Barghout expressed a desperate wish for peace in the new year, not only for his war-torn homeland but for the entire world.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which persisted throughout 2024, has left the Gaza Strip in the grip of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
The ongoing Israeli attacks in the Palestinian enclave has claimed 45,581 Palestinian lives and 108,438 others have been injured, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday.
For Palestinians, 2024 ended without even a brief moment of respite.
Gazan residents like Abu Yousef Barghout said that they are exhausted by the relentless cycle of destruction and death, clinging to hopes that the new year will bring everlasting peace not only to Gaza but the world.
"My name is Abu Yousef Barghout. I am 47 years old. Wishes about 2025 maybe after the war [it] will finish, maybe I will leave Gaza. We hope the war will finish and the peace will come to all the world. Gaza will have the peace and world will have the peace, because we are tired of the war. Happy New Year. And we wish the peace will come together and come to all the world," he said.
Barghout's New Year wish reflects the collective yearning of Gaza's residents for a future free from war, and a future where peace can replace the suffering that has defined their lives for far too long.
Gazan resident expresses hope for peace as new year dawns
As temperatures drop, swarms of migratory birds have flocked to wetland reserves in Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, enjoying their winter stopover at the wetland sanctuaries where food is abundant.
At Nanji wetland in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, a record high of over 5,000 oriental white storks, a bird species under first-class national protection in China, have been spotted recently.
According to wetland workers, the population of migratory birds has been steadily growing since fishing was banned in 2020.
In addition, relevant authorities have conducted joint law enforcement and strengthened patrols to ensure that migratory birds can safely spend the winter there.
A wetland in Yangxin County, central China's Hubei Province, has recently transformed into a lake of swans with the arrival of large numbers of little swans.
The little swans were seen foraging, playing, and swimming at the Wanghu Wetland Nature Reserve, attracting many bird enthusiasts to capture the moments in photography.
This year, the population of little swans, a species under second-class national protection, has doubled compared to previous years.
The wetland, located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, is one of the key stops along the migratory route of birds.
It has so far welcomed more than 90,000 migratory birds of 49 species, and the number is expected to reach 100,000 by the end of January.
Migratory birds flock to eastern, central China as temperatures drop
