Beijing:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday called Israel’s war in Gaza a “disgrace to civilization” and reiterated Beijing’s demand for an “immediate ceasefire.”

“Today in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be prevented. It is a tragedy for mankind and a shame for civilization,” Wang Yi told reporters at a press conference.

Beijing has called for an immediate ceasefire since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October.

China has always been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Xi Jinping has called for an “international peace conference” to resolve the conflict.

“There is no justification for the continuation of the conflict, no excuse for the desperate killings,” Wang said.

“The international community must act urgently to make an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities an overriding priority and to ensure humanitarian relief as an urgent moral imperative.”

Beijing’s top diplomat also said China supports the Palestinian state’s “formal” membership in the United Nations.

“We support Palestine becoming a full member of the United Nations,” Wang said.

“The disaster in Gaza once again reminds the world that the fact that the Palestinian territories have been occupied for so long can no longer be ignored,” he said.

The long-cherished wish of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state cannot be evaded, and the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people cannot be passed down from generation to generation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)