“It should seriously listen to the calls of the international community and the United Nations secretary general and stop collective punishment of the people of Gaza.”
“Israel’s actions have gone beyond self-defence,” Wang told Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout released early on Sunday.
In a call with Saudi Arabian counterpart, Wang also condemned the continued Israeli retaliation to a shock attack a week ago by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
Israel should stop its “ collective punishment ” of Gaza’s civilians with actions beyond self-defence, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, warning it would worsen regional tensions and lead to humanitarian disaster.
“China opposes and condemns all actions that harm civilians because they violate basic human conscience and basic norms of international law,” Wang said.
He also urged all parties to refrain from escalating the situation and to return to negotiations as soon as possible, the readout added.
Palestinians from northern Gaza flee to the south after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning. Photo: AP
“China is communicating intensively with all parties to urge for a ceasefire. The top priority now is to ensure the safety of civilians, open humanitarian aid channels and safeguard the basic needs of Gaza’s people,” Wang said.
Al Saud said Saudi Arabia was deeply concerned about the Israel-Palestine conflict. He condemned all attacks on civilians and opposed Israel’s forcible relocation of Gaza residents.
On Friday, the Israeli military told the 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to to relocate southwards within 24 hours ahead of an expected ground offensive, prompting a mass exodus
After days of intense bombardment of Gaza and cutting off electricity and water supplies , the Israel Defence Forces on Saturday said it was preparing to implement “combined and coordinated strikes from the air, sea and land”.
The UN has said it “considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences”.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, who earlier said the situation in Gaza had “reached a dangerous new low”, has been urging Israeli authorities “to avert a humanitarian catastrophe”.
Humanitarian organisation Norwegian Refugee Council has also called on Israel to reverse the evacuation order, saying the “collective punishment of countless civilians” amounted to a war crime.
“My colleagues inside Gaza confirm that there are countless people in the northern parts who have no means to safely relocate under the constant barrage of fire,” council chief Jan Egeland said on Friday.
“The loss of civilian lives caused by deliberate or indiscriminate use of force is a war crime.”
Some 1,300 people were killed and dozens taken hostage by Hamas fighters after they attacked a music festival and border towns in southern Israel early on October 7. Retaliatory air strikes launched by Israel have killed more than 2,200 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities.
China’s special envoy for Middle East affairs Zhai Jun, who will visit the region this week, warned that the conflict was spilling over, with armed clashes with pro-Palestinian groups on Israel’s northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.
“The international community must be highly vigilant and work together to control the situation and prevent it from getting out of control with objectivity and fairness,” Zhai told state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday.
He said Chinese citizens in Israel could take commercial flights back or to third countries as needed, and Beijing would continue to monitor air and land routes and provide help.
03:43 Protesters on both sides of Israel-Hamas conflict flood streets around the world Protesters on both sides of Israel-Hamas conflict flood streets around the world
Zhai said his upcoming visits would aim to push for a ceasefire, protection of civilians, de-escalation of the situation and the promotion of peace talks. He did not specify “the relevant countries” to be included on the trip.
His trip will follow the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s ongoing diplomatic tour of the Middle East covering Israel, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as well as Saudi Arabia.
Blinken has urged Beijing to use its influence in the Middle East to prevent other state or non-state actors from attacking Israel and widening its war with Hamas, the State Department said in reporting a call between him and Wang.
Wang said the “two-state solution”, a proposed framework to establish an independent Palestine alongside the Jewish state, remained the “fundamental way out” for the conflict, according to the Chinese readout of the call. Blinken agreed, it noted.
msdxat21M on October 15th, 2023 at 23:00 UTC »
This is definitely in response to Israel joining the UN vote to condemn Uyghur imprisonment.
kkdogs19 on October 15th, 2023 at 21:15 UTC »
This is true. But because it's China saying it then people will oppose it. By almost every objective measure Israel has used it's overwhelming superiority in military power to inflict more damage than Hamas did or ever could.
Linny911 on October 15th, 2023 at 20:43 UTC »
CCP pretending they wouldn't do the same in Israel's situation is hilarious. Not the best of the best fake smiles.