President,

I thank Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland for his briefing.

The conflict in Gaza has been ongoing for over eight months and caused unprecedented destruction and a humanitarian disaster. The international community has long since reached an overwhelming consensus. Both the General Assembly Emergency Special Sessions and the Security Council have adopted multiple resolutions calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the removal of obstacles to humanitarian access, and effective protection of the safety of the humanitarian workers.

After announcing a three-phase ceasefire proposal on May 31, the US pushed for the adoption of Resolution 2735 by the Council, urging both Israel and Hamas to accept the proposal. At that time, the US claimed that Israel already accepted the proposal. Regrettably, until now, we haven’t seen tangible signs from Israel of its agreement to the lasting ceasefire. On the contrary, we have witnessed its continued large scale military operations and repeated attacks on refugee camps in Rafah, Nuseirat, and Gaza City, resulting in new and major casualties, and putting UNRWA, ICRC, and other humanitarian agencies in danger.

There must be an immediate ceasefire, and once that is achieved, there should be no resumption of the war. It is the core essence of the Council Resolutions 2728 and 2735. To rescue hostages, creating more civilian casualties is not the way to go. China urges Israel to follow the overwhelming call of the international community for it to immediately cease military operations in Gaza and immediately stop the collective punishment of the Gazan people. We call on the country with important influence to work sincerely in an impartial and responsible manner to push for the cessation of hostilities.

Gaza is in the grip of a dire humanitarian situation. While Israeli military operations pose a grave threat to humanitarian workers, its suggestion or even accusation of inaction on the part of humanitarian agencies is unacceptable. Under the international humanitarian law, Israel has an obligation to protect the safety of humanitarian agencies and their staff and to ensure the rapid entry of sufficient humanitarian relief into Gaza and their safe and orderly delivery to all people in need.

In the West Bank, searches, arrests, and raids by Israeli enforcement agencies against Palestinians are daily occurrences. We call on Israel to effectively curb violence against the Palestinian civilians and stop undermining the basis of governance for the Palestinian Authority, including by expeditiously returning the withheld tax revenues. China reiterates that settlement activities are in violation of international law and Security Council Resolution 2334 and erode the prospect for a two-State solution. Israel must immediately cease all settlement activities.

President,

As repercussions of the Gaza conflict spillover fast, we are seeing worrisome tension in the Red Sea and along the Lebanon-Israel border. China is gravely concerned about reports regarding Israel’s plan of military offensives in Lebanon. As Secretary-General Guterres cautioned last Friday, the situation in the Middle East is very precarious and the people of the region and the people of the world can't afford Lebanon to become another Gaza. China calls on all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that could escalate tensions, so as not to plunge the entire Middle East region into an even greater catastrophe. We call on the international community to take all necessary actions to bring about an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, an early relaunch of the process of implementing the two-State solution, and the realization of lasting peace and security in the Middle East at an early date.

Thank you, President.