Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday described Israel’s war in Gaza as a “disgrace for civilisation” and reiterated Beijing’s calls for an “immediate ceasefire” as the conflict stretched into its sixth month despite efforts by mediators to reach a truce.
“It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilization that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped.
“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.
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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 war has reduced vast stretches of Gaza to a wasteland of gutted buildings and rubble and sparked a humanitarian disaster for its 2.4 million people.
In Gaza’s northern region, the UN’s World Food Programme has cautioned that hunger has escalated to “catastrophic levels” due to restricted aid distribution.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday that 20 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration, at least half of them children.
One of the latest victims was a 15-year-old girl who died at Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital.
“The famine in northern Gaza has reached lethal levels and could claim thousands of lives unless Gaza receives more aid and medical supplies,” Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.
