China supports Islamic countries in strengthening unity and cooperation on the Palestinian issue, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart, while calling on the international community to act against any party that harms innocent civilians.
In a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday, Wang condemned excessive exercising of the right to self-defence, although he did not mention Israel, according to a readout by China’s foreign ministry.
“The right to self-defence should be exercised in compliance with international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and hostages,” Wang said, according to the statement.
The ministry said Wang supported Islamic countries “making a unified voice” in relation to Palestine amid the war between Israel and militant group Hamas.
The day before, in a call with the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, Wang condemned Israel’s “collective punishment” of Gaza’s civilians, saying its actions went beyond self-defence, the foreign ministry said.
Wang said the current top priority was to de-escalate the conflict and avoid a severe humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza before it further jeopardised the Middle East peace process.
He also reiterated Beijing’s support for an independent Palestinian state as a way out of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“China will stand on the side of peace and justice and support the Palestinian people in their just cause of safeguarding their national rights,” Wang said.
In a separate call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, Wang called for a ceasefire and resumption of dialogue between the two parties in the conflict, as well as the opening of humanitarian aid routes to Gaza, the foreign ministry said.
“China is coordinating with the relevant parties to avert a humanitarian disaster and will continue to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip through the United Nations and bilateral channels,” Wang said.
With the intense bombardment of Gaza by Israel continuing, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees said on Sunday that more than 1 million people had been displaced in the first seven days of the conflict in Gaza.
The agency also said its Gaza-based staff could no longer provide aid to people in Gaza, with most of its 13,000 staff there now displaced or out of their homes.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 2,670 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 9,600 injured since the start of the crisis. At least a quarter of those killed were children, it said.
Israel Defence Forces said on Sunday at least 1,300 Israelis had been killed in Hamas’s military operation, including 286 soldiers.
According to the Iranian readout, Amir-Abdollahian said the conflict situation was highly dangerous and events could spiral out of control at any moment. He further called for Beijing to use its capacity to stop Israel’s attacks on the people of Gaza.
Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers said their governments would continue to work with China to politically settle the Palestine issue and to seek lasting peace in the region.
In its latest effort to help cool the conflict, Beijing’s special envoy for Middle East affairs Zhai Jun will visit the region this week, aiming to push for a ceasefire, protect civilians, de-escalate the situation and promote peace talks.