UNITED NATIONS, October 25. /TASS/. China has called on Israel to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip and open channels for humanitarian aid, China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun said.

"Preventing an even bigger humanitarian catastrophe should be the priority of all our efforts. Gaza has been without electricity for 15 days. Water has been cut off. Food, medicine and other basic necessities will soon run out. <...> The [UN] Security Council must use unequivocal language to demand that the occupying power lift the siege of Gaza <...> and end the collective punishment of the people of Gaza. <...> And ensure safe channels for aid," Zhang Jun said at an open debate on the situation in the Middle East at the UN Security Council.

"The cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the prolonged illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, the disregard for the rights of Palestinians to establish an independent state, and the lack of effective protection of the basic rights of the Palestinian people. The fundamental approach to resolving the conflict is to implement the two-state solution to ensure peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel," the Chinese diplomat said.

"We call on the Security Council to take responsible action collectively and urgently, and to send a message with a unified voice. <…> The UN Security Council should use clear, unambiguous language to demand a ceasefire. Whatever the excuses, if the fighting in Gaza continues, if there is an escalation, the result will not be a complete victory for one side, but a disaster that will engulf the entire region," Zhang Jun emphasized.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank of the Jordan River as well.