The international community must “act urgently” to end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority countries on Monday.
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“Let us work together to quickly calm the situation in Gaza and restore peace in the Middle East as soon as possible,” Wang said during his opening speech in Beijing.
“A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Gaza,” he told the delegation’s senior diplomats, including the foreign ministers of the Palestinian Authority, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
“The situation in Gaza affects every country in the world and challenges the notion of right and wrong and the basic principles of humanity,” he added.
“The international community must act urgently and take effective measures to prevent this tragedy from spreading,” Wang said.
The war between Hamas and Israel was triggered by the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7th on a scale unprecedented in Israel’s history. According to authorities, 1,200 people were killed that day and 240 others were taken hostage, the vast majority of them civilians.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas through its army’s relentless shelling of the small area. But the extent of the destruction and the number of victims provoke disapproval from part of the international community.
According to the Islamist movement, a total of 13,000 people were killed in Israeli bombings, including more than 5,500 children.
Promote “de-escalation”.
According to Beijing, the talks with the ministers aim to “advance a de-escalation of the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, protect the civilian population and fairly resolve the Palestinian issue.”
Since the start of the war, Chinese officials have called for an immediate ceasefire and a “return to calm.”
Historically, China has been friendly to the Palestinians and supported a two-state solution.
Mr Wang told diplomats on Monday that Beijing was “a good friend and brother of Arab and Muslim countries”.
“We have always firmly defended the legitimate rights and interests of Arab and Muslim countries, and we have always firmly supported the efforts of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and interests,” he added.
Since the war broke out, “Beijing has not only contacted all parties through bilateral channels to promote peace and talks, but also used multilateral platforms to find consensus and restore peace,” Mr. Wang recalled.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki accused Israel of trying to “end the presence of the Palestinian people on the remnants of their historic land.”
And Prince Faisal bin Farhan, head of Saudi diplomacy, said that Riyadh “asks our friends in China for further cooperation” to “work to end this crisis and this serious situation as quickly as possible.”