China tells Israel ‘humanitarian disasters’ in Gaza must end: State media

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Oct 14 told his Israeli counterpart that “humanitarian disasters” in Gaza should end, state media said.

“Humanitarian disasters in Gaza should not continue and...countering violence with violence cannot truly address the legitimate concerns of all parties,” Mr Wang told Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz during a phone call, the official Xinhua news agency said.

“The Chinese side believes that renewed conflict and turmoil in the region serves the interests of no one,” Mr Wang added.

Beijing also “hopes that all parties will act cautiously to avoid falling into a vicious circle amid tension between Israel and Iran”, Xinhua quoted Mr Wang as saying.

He called for “immediate, complete and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages”.

The war in Gaza has killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, 42,289 people, the majority civilians.

The United Nations acknowledges the figures to be reliable.

Hamas triggered the ongoing conflict in Gaza

with the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023. It resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Israel has bombarded the Palestinian territory by land, air and sea as it seeks to destroy the militant group, displacing almost all of its civilian population of 2.4 million people at least once in the past year.

And it is now fighting a war on two fronts,

one on its northern border with Lebanon

, the other with Hamas in Gaza, while it also faces attacks from Iran-backed militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

After almost a year of cross-border fire over the Gaza war, Israel on Sept 23 launched an intense air campaign mainly targeting Hezbollah’s south and east Lebanon strongholds, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs.

The escalation has killed more than 1,300 people, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

China said earlier in October that it had evacuated 215 of its nationals from Lebanon.

Beijing has also repeatedly called for peace talks to resolve the crisis in Gaza.

In July, the country brokered a “national unity” deal between Hamas, Fatah, and other Palestinian organisations to rule Gaza together after the war. AFP