BEIJING, March 7. /TASS/. China supports Palestine's desire to become a fully-fledged UN member, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference.

"We support Palestine’s full membership in the UN, and urge certain UN Security Council member to stop laying obstacles to that end," he said, adding that Beijing favors the convening of an international conference to resolve the issue of peaceful Israel-Palestine coexistence.

Wang Yi called the ongoing conflict "a tragedy for humanity and a disgrace·for civilization." "Nothing justifies the protraction of the conflict, or the killing of the civilian population," he said, adding that the international community must act immediately to prioritize an urgent ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, as well as to deliver humanitarian assistance.

Wang Yi added that China advocates that the Palestinian and Israeli sides resume peace talks as soon as possible and establish the peaceful coexistence of the two countries, as well as the balanced dialogue between the Arab and Jewish peoples. China will continue to work with the international community to restore peace, save lives and promote justice, he concluded.

The situation in the Middle East escalated sharply on October 7 of last year after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged surprise incursions from Gaza into borderline Israeli communities, killing residents of Israeli kibbutzim and taking more than 200 people as hostages, including children, women and the elderly. The radicals described the attack as a response to the aggressive actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a complete blockade of Gaza and launched retaliatory strikes and a ground military operation against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave as well as strikes on parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported in the West Bank.