China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday called the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip a "disgrace for civilisation" and reiterated Beijing's calls for an "immediate ceasefire".
"It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilisation that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped," Wang told journalists at a press conference.
Beijing has been calling for an immediate ceasefire since the start of the war in October last year and has historically called for the creation of a Palestinian state. It condemned US vetoes that blocked a ceasefire resolution in Gaza at the UN Security Council.
President Xi Jinping has called for an "international peace conference" to resolve the fighting.
"No reason can justify the continuation of the conflict, and no excuse can justify being desperately killed," Wang expressed.
"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."
Beijing's top diplomat also said China supports full United Nations membership for a Palestinian state.
"We support Palestine becoming a formal member of the United Nations," Wang said.
He mentioned that "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," he indicated.
"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," the Chinese Foreign Minister concluded.
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