The Chinese foreign ministry has "strongly condemned" what it described as an "attack" on the al-Ahli Hospital on Tuesday in which the Gaza Health Ministry says 500 people were killed.
"The Chinese side is shocked by and strongly condemns the attack on a hospital in Gaza, which resulted in heavy casualties, and we express our condolences to the victims and sympathy to the injured. China calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the fighting and for every effort to be made to protect civilians and avoid a humanitarian disaster," said Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, on Wednesday.
She was asked about the incident after it started a discussion on Chinese social media.
The hashtag "Hundreds killed in attack on hospital in Gaza Strip" trended on Weibo and was viewed over 300 million times.
Another hashtag, "Israeli bombardment of Gaza hospitals causes heavy casualties," was viewed over 31 million times on Weibo. The hashtag "Foreign media say Gaza hospital attack was preceded by Israeli artillery warning" also became a social media trend.
Israel has blamed a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group for the incident, which has denied responsibility.
China has backed the two-state solution since the beginning of the hostilities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The debate among the Chinese public has continued to rage, however, as Beijing hasn't publicly assigned blame for the outbreak of violence.
"Despite massive aid, US policies have failed to achieve peace in Israel, West Bank and Gaza, thus eroding US credibility in the region. Why did US policies fail? Could Chinese policies contribute to peace?" said an op-ed published by China Daily, a Chinese state media outlet.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's visit to Israel was closely watched in China. The hashtag "Biden arrives in Israel" was viewed over 190 million times on Weibo.
Chinese social media users reacted to Biden's Israel visit.
"By now, Biden has never really warned Israel harshly and has only pretended to call out Israel. The United States will only wear the same pants as Israel and will only be held hostage by Israel. The United States can't cut out with Israel," said a Weibo user.
Zhang Jun, China's representative at the United Nations, has repeated Beijing's call for a ceasefire while raising the alarm about the conflict having "spillover effects."
"China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of the new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict, which has led to large-scale civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis and whose spillover effects are also affecting regional peace and stability," said Zhang on Monday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
