Palestinians flee their homes after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods following heavy strikes, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. ABD ELHKEEM KHALED/REUTERS
GAZA/UNITED NATIONS — The international community has condemned the latest deadly Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, as the strikes killed nearly a thousand Palestinians in two days.
A Chinese envoy urged Israel to "renounce its obsession with the use of force" and immediately cease military operations in Gaza.
"China regrets the harm done to the hard-won cease-fire and is gravely concerned about Israel's resumption of hostilities in Gaza. We strongly condemn this," Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council on Tuesday.
"Military means is not the way to solve the Palestinian-Israeli issue," he stressed. "Since the cease-fire agreement was reached, it should be fully and seriously implemented in good faith, and no attempt should be made to alter or undermine it midway."
Meanwhile, China strongly opposes the weaponization and politicization of humanitarian aid, he said, adding the use of humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip violates international law, especially international humanitarian law.
Fu urged Israel, as the occupying power, to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law and immediately restore full humanitarian access to Gaza.
The health ministry in Hamasrun Gaza on Wednesday published a new death toll from the conflict with Israel, showing an additional 970 deaths in 48 hours, after Israel intensified strikes on the territory.
The death toll in Gaza recorded by the ministry had risen to 49,547 by midday on Wednesday, it said. Israel launched a wave of strikes on Gaza overnight between Monday and Tuesday, by far the deadliest since a fragile truce began in January, as Israel warned the onslaught was "just the beginning".
On Wednesday, a foreign UN worker was killed and five others seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike on the site of a UN headquarters in central Gaza City, Gaza's health ministry said.
The Israeli army dropped leaflets on Wednesday on areas in Beit Hanoun and Khan Younis in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, respectively, ordering residents to evacuate their homes and warning them they were in "dangerous combat zones".
"Staying in the shelters or the current tent puts your lives and that of your family members in danger, evacuate immediately," read a leaflet dropped on Beit Hanoun.
Hamas announced on Tuesday evening that it remains in constant contact with mediators and is engaging responsibly and positively with all proposals aimed at halting the Israeli "aggression" against and lifting the blockade on Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said the movement has not rejected the proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, but has responded positively to it.
The European Union urged Israel to end its military operations and reiterated its call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas, according to a joint statement issued on Tuesday by Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, along with commissioners Dubravka Suica and Hadja Lahbib.
Kallas said on Wednesday that she told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the situation in Gaza is "unacceptable".
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that Israel's raids on Gaza "are shattering the tangible hopes of so many Israelis and Palestinians of an end to suffering on all sides".
Egypt, Kuwait and Bahrain warned on Tuesday that renewed Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip threaten regional peace and stability.
The remarks were made during separate phone conversations between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Egyptian presidency said in two statements.
Xinhua - Agencies
