United Nations Security Council meeting Photo: VCG
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a Security Council Briefing on Friday that China is gravely concerned about the breakdown of the hard-won ceasefire in Gaza. "Gaza must not become a battleground for political game. Civilian lives must not be sacrificed for political calculations. A lasting ceasefire must be realized in Gaza," the Chinese envoy said.
The resumed fighting in Gaza has sparked widespread concern and apprehension in the international community. Since March 17, Israel has carried out large-scale airstrikes, renewed its ground offensive, and occupied central Gaza. Israel has also cut off access to humanitarian supplies and electricity in succession, causing massive casualties and worsening the already grave humanitarian disaster, Fu said.
"Securing a lasting ceasefire is the best way to save lives and bring hostages home, and it is an overriding priority," he noted, while urging Israel to abandon its obsession with the use of force, immediately cease its military operations against Gaza, and lift blockade on the access of humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
Meanwhile, the situation in the West Bank is equally critical, the Chinese envoy added. Over the past two months, continued Israeli military operations have emptied by force multiple Palestinian refugee camps, displacing over 40,000 people. Israel should cease its attacks on the West Bank, stop settlement activities, and effectively curb settler violence, Fu noted.
Fu reiterated that implementing the two-State solution is the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian question. The international community should step up efforts to promote the political process of the two-State solution and provide robust guarantees. China supports the Gaza recovery and reconstruction plan jointly initiated by Egypt and other Arab states, and supports the commencement of rebuilding in accordance with the principle of Palestinians governing Palestine. China opposes the forced removal of Palestinian people, and opposes any attempt to annex the territories of Gaza or the West Bank, Fu noted.
Hamas said on Friday it was reviewing a US proposal to restore the Gaza ceasefire as Israel intensified a military onslaught to press the Palestinian militant group to free remaining Israeli hostages, Reuters reported. Three days after Israel effectively abandoned the two-month-old truce, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military was intensifying its air, land and sea strikes and would move civilians to the southern part of Gaza.
Global Times
