Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip have gone “beyond the scope of self-defense,” China’s foreign minister has said, as the encroaching possibility of an Israeli ground attack threatens to further endanger Palestinian civilians who have been caught up in the fighting.
Protecting “the basic needs of the people in Gaza” is a priority and “China opposes and condemns all acts that harm civilians,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a call with Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in remarks reported by Chinese media.
It has been more than a week since Hamas militants launched a large-scale land, air and sea attack on Israel. Fighters quickly moving through Israeli villages close to the Gaza Strip, killing civilians and taking hostages back into the besieged enclave. It was the deadliest attack by Palestinian militants in Israel’s history.
Israel then launched widespread air strikes on the Hamas-controlled territory, to the west of southern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces has said the thousands of bombs dropped on the sliver of land have targeted the extensive network of tunnels under Gaza, used by Hamas to coordinate attacks against Israel.
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