Xi expresses deep pain over 'severe' Gaza situation
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President Xi Jinping expresses China's deep pain over the dire situation in Gaza during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping (back-R) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (back-L) attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 29, 2024 ( AFP)
President Xi Jinping conveyed to his Egyptian counterpart on Wednesday that China was "deeply pained" by the "extremely severe" situation in Gaza, as reported by state media.
China is hosting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi along with several other Arab leaders in Beijing this week. The discussions aim to strengthen the consensus between Beijing and the Arab nations.
"The current round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused a large number of innocent Palestinian civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely severe. China is deeply pained," Xi told Sisi in Beijing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
"The top priority task now is an immediate ceasefire, in order to avoid spillover of conflict, impact on regional peace and stability, and so as to prevent a more serious humanitarian crisis," Xi stressed.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Chinese leader highlighted that Bejing values Egypt's significant role in de-escalating the situation and providing humanitarian aid.
He further expressed China's willingness to collaborate with Egypt to continue supporting the people of Gaza and to strive for a prompt, comprehensive, just, and lasting resolution of the Palestinian issue.
It is worth noting that China was one of the first countries to call for a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis, calling on "Israel" to lift the blockade imposed on the Strip to ensure the entry of much-needed aid, respect international humanitarian law, and stop targeting all civilian objects and aid workers in Gaza.
China's Foreign Ministry vowed in early November that it would do its best and utmost to bring back peace in the Palestinian territories while it maintains the presidency of the UN Security Council. The Chinese government has also provided Gaza with batches of emergency humanitarian supplies.
In mid-February, it called on "Israel" to halt its aggression in the region of Rafah in the Gaza Strip "without delay," cautioning of an impending "severe humanitarian crisis" should the war persist.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping had called for an "international peace conference" to end the war.
Day 236 of Israeli aggression: 36,171 killed, 81,420 injured in Gaza
Israeli occupation forces committed six massacres against Palestinian families in Gaza in 24 hours, killing 75 Palestinians and injuring 284 others, as per Gaza's Ministry of Health.
Many victims remain under the rubble and on the streets as the IOF deliberately prevents ambulances and civil defense crews from reaching them.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation since October 7 to 36,171 and those injured to 81,420, the Ministry added.
It is believed that these numbers are nowhere near the true number of victims of "Israel's" genocidal war in Gaza, as Palestinian healthcare authorities face significant challenges in accurately tallying the number of martyrs wounded and individuals dying beneath the rubble.
