China calls war in Gaza ‘a disgrace to civilization’

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: China described the war in Gaza as a “disgrace to civilization” and called on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire as the conflict stretched into its sixth month despite efforts by mediators to reach a truce.

Wang also said Beijing supports “full” United Nations membership of a Palestinian state.

“We support Palestine becoming a formal member of the United Nations,” the foreign minister said.

“The catastrophe in Gaza once again reminded the world that the fact that the Palestinian territories have been occupied for a long time can no longer be ignored.”

Mediators in Egypt have struggled to overcome tough obstacles in their attempts to negotiate a pause, while the United Nations has warned that famine looms for Palestinians trapped by the fighting.

“It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilization that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a news conference in Beijing.

China, historically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, has been calling for a ceasefire since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

“The international community must act urgently, making an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities an overriding priority, and ensuring humanitarian relief an urgent moral responsibility,” Wang said.

“The long-cherished wish of the Palestinian people to establish an independent country can no longer be evaded, and the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people cannot continue for generations without being corrected,” he added.

President Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to resolve the fighting between Israel and Hamas, which has killed more than 30,000 people since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that has triggered an massive Israeli offensive on Gaza.