China has condemned the killing of civilians amid the Israeli onslaught in Gaza and rapped Israel’s actions for being “beyond the scope self-defense.”
According to reports by Chinese media on Tuesday, in a phone conversation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen to observe international law and protect civilians and condemned violence and attacks on civilians.
“All countries have the right to self-defense, but they should abide by international humanitarian law and protect the safety of civilians,” he added.
Tel Aviv and its Western allies label the ongoing war on Gaza that killed thousands of children and women as an act of self-defense in response to Operation Al-Aqsa Strom launched by Hamas earlier this month.
China will do its utmost when it comes to contributing to Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation, Wang said
He also called on Israel to take effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the Middle East.
Wang stressed that Beijing will firmly support any resolution as long as it is conducive to peace.
In a separate phone call with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, Wang said he “deeply sympathizes” with the people of Gaza.
Wang also said China calls for the convening of a “more authoritative, wide-ranging and effective international peace conference” soon.
He stressed that the UN Security Council “should effectively shoulder its responsibility”, and “countries outside the region, especially major powers, should be objective and impartial.”
That comes as the US has sent munitions and military equipment to Israel and deployed aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean Sea in a show of support for Tel Aviv.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.
Since the start of the Israeli aggression, more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children. Some 15,000 others were injured.
Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.
The Al-Aqsa Storm operation conducted by the Palestinian resistance killed at least 1,500 Israeli forces and settlers and injured more than 4,800 others.
