BEIJING, October 13. /TASS/. Beijing will keep providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Beijing.

"China is maintaining dialogue with the relevant parties [Israel and Palestine] and will actively participate in emergency consultations at the UN Security Council," Wang Yi said. "We will also continue to provide urgent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian National Authority through UN channels."

He said the escalation in the Middle East has led to a large number of civilian casualties while the humanitarian situation has sharply aggravated. "China condemns all actions that harm civilians and opposes any violation of international law," Wang Yi said.

This June, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the fundamental solution to the Middle East issue is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state enjoying full sovereignty within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed and almost 7,200 others injured. In Israel, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded.