Last Updated: October 09, 2023, 11:28 IST
New York City’s iconic Empire State Building lit up in the colours of the Israeli flag as a symbol of solidarity. The United States pledged unwavering support to Israel after the Hamas attack. (Image Credit: X)
Israel seeks stronger condemnation of Hamas from China amid escalating conflict. Calls for immediate end to hostilities and emphasizes two-state solution
Israel expected a “stronger condemnation” of Hamas from China, a country it views as its friend, Yuval Waks, a senior official at the Israeli embassy in Beijing, said on Sunday. “When people are being murdered, slaughtered in the streets, this is not the time to call for a two-state solution,” Waks told reporters, according to Reuters.
More than 700 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched its large-scale attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said. Another 1,200 people have been wounded. In retaliation, Israeli air strikes have hit the Gaza Strip, with officials there reporting the death of over 400 Palestinians. A day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Israel to prepare for a “long and difficult” war, the Israeli army said it hit more than 500 targets in the Gaza Strip in overnight strikes.
As the situation continues to escalate in the region, Israel’s Embassy to China urged Beijing to stand with Israel. “We also hope that China can provide solidarity and support to Israel at this difficult moment,” it wrote on the social media platform X on Sunday.
These remarks came after China’s foreign ministry urged the relevant parties to remain calm and immediately end the hostilities. In a statement issued on Sunday, Beijing added that “the fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine.”
我们感谢世界上所有与以色列站在一起的国家，我们有权对哈马斯谋杀、绑架无辜的以色列人民采取行动。我们也希望中国能在这个困难的时刻，给予以色列的声援与支持。
图片来自美国纽约、意大利罗马、德国柏林、奥地利 pic.twitter.com/D9HwFoZBQN
— 以色列在中国 (@IsraelinChina) October 8, 2023
Notably, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is on a visit to China, echoed Israeli official’s sentiment amid the ongoing fighting. On Monday, Schumer told China’s top diplomat Wang Yi that he was “very disappointed” by a recent statement by Beijing on the dramatic escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
“I was very disappointed, to be honest, by the foreign ministry’s statement that showed no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times,” Schumer told Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting in Beijing on Monday, according to agency pool video.
(With agency inputs)
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