Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – China again commented on the Israeli-Hamas armed conflict that continues to occur in the Gaza region. Beijing’s latest statement was delivered by President Xi Jinping’s government, through China’s special envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, Monday (23/10/2023).
In his presentation, Zhai emphasized that Beijing is willing to do “whatever is conducive” to encouraging dialogue, achieving a ceasefire and restoring peace in the Middle East. He also described the potential for large-scale conflict that could spread to neighboring countries.
“The situation in Gaza is very serious. China will continue close communication with all parties in the international community,” Zhai, who recently attended a peace summit in Cairo, was quoted as saying Al Jazeera.
“China has and will continue to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians through the UN and bilateral channels to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis,” Zhai added.
Zhai’s remarks echoed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statement some time ago. Addressing Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Wang said Israel must “stop collective punishment of the people of Gaza”.
Wang emphasized to Prince Faisal that all parties should not take any action to worsen the situation. He emphasized that everyone involved must return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
“(Israel) must listen seriously to the calls of the international community and the UN Secretary General, and stop the collective punishment of the Gaza people,” Wang added.
Escalation in the Gaza area continues to increase after Israel bombarded the area sporadically. This was done by Tel Aviv to destroy the Hamas group, which attacked the Jewish State on October 7 and killed 1,400 residents.
Even though it claims to target Hamas, Israel’s attacks have in fact caused great damage to civilians. The Palestinian Health Ministry on Sunday said the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 4,651 people while 14,254 people were injured.
The ministry also said 93 Palestinians were killed in Israeli violence and attacks in other Palestinian territories, the West Bank.
Apart from massive attacks, Israel has also cut off access to logistics materials, water and utilities to the Gaza area. This condition has also threatened the lives of Gaza residents, with health facilities increasingly overwhelmed due to the large number of victims and limited supplies of medicine and electricity.
Israel itself has given an evacuation order for Gaza residents to go to the south of the enclave. More than one million residents have fled their homes in the northern region of Gaza.
This situation has also become the spotlight of the UN. A total of five UN agencies said the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip had entered a “major catastrophe”.
“More than 1.6 million people in Gaza are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,” said a statement from various agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, quoted Channel News Asia.
“Children, pregnant women and the elderly are still the most vulnerable groups. Almost half of Gaza’s population are children,” he added.
The three other institutions that signed the statement were the World Food Program (WFP), the UNDP development agency and the UN population agency, UNFPA. They also asked world citizens to work together to help Gaza.
“Gaza was in a dire humanitarian situation before the latest hostilities. Now it is a major disaster. The world must do more,” the statement added.
Chinese Warship
Meanwhile, China is reportedly stationing six warships in the Middle East. These ships have been in the area for at least a week.
Quote South China Morning Post (SCMP) And Sputnik, they are the 44th naval force of the Chinese military (PLA), which has previously carried out joint exercises with Oman. Consisting of the Type 052D guided missile destroyer, the frigate Jingzhou and the integrated supply ship Qiandaohu.
This was done exactly when the United States (US) sent the USS Gerald R Ford, its most sophisticated aircraft carrier, along with its battle group to the West Asia region. On the other hand, the Israeli military has warned that Iran-backed Hezbollah risks dragging neighboring Lebanon into war, and said an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon on Sunday.
Quote Wion, currently the current status of the warship is unknown. However, this report coincided with President Xi Jinping’s call for a ceasefire and humanitarian corridor in Gaza.
Xi’s comments were made during a meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister (PM) Mostafa Madbouly on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum (BRI) in Beijing, last week. State media quoted Xi as telling Madbouly that China supported Egypt’s efforts to let humanitarian aid into Gaza.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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