Riyaz ul Khaliq
16 October 2023•Update: 17 October 2023
ISTANBUL
China on Monday said it is shipping humanitarian aid to meet the urgent needs of those in the Gaza Strip.
Xu Wei, spokesman for China International Development Cooperation Agency, said the aid is being shipped through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Palestinian National Authority, according to Chinese broadcaster CGTN.
Ten days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over 1 million people – almost half the total population of Gaza – having been displaced.
Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, and water, food, fuel and medical supplies are running out, as civilians flee to the south following Israeli warning to evacuate northern areas.
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has risen to 2,750, including 750 children.
In Israel, 1,300 have been killed.
On the armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, Beijing has said the “crux of the matter” was a denial of justice to Palestinians.
In several statements, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on Israel to heed international law and stop “collective punishment” of the oppressed people.
Speaking to his US counterpart Antony Blinken over the phone, Wang said: “There is no way out through military means, and using violence for violence will only create a vicious cycle.”
“The Israeli people have received assurances of their survival, but who is ensuring the survival of the Palestinian people," Wang asked during a news conference, alongside EU foreign affairs chief Joseph Borrell, in Beijing.
"The Israeli nation is no longer in a state of diaspora, but when will the Palestinian nation be able to return to their homeland," he questioned.
Beijing urged all sides of the conflict to refrain from escalating the situation and return to negotiations as soon as possible.
China is also dispatching its special envoy for Middle East affairs Zhai Jun to visit the regional nations this week while Beijing has insisted that the “two-state solution” was a “fundamental way out” of the conflict.
