Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories: Mediators struggled on Thursday to reach a truce in Israel’s war with Hamas that entered its sixth month with dozens more killed, according to Palestinian health ministry.
The ministry said 83 more people had been killed over the previous day, adding to a toll it says has reached 30,800, mostly women and children, in a war that China called “a disgrace to civilisation”.
Fighting began after an unprecedented October 7 attack by Palestinian group on southern Israel that resulted in about 1,160 deaths, most of them civilians, Israeli figures show.
US President Joe Biden has urged the Palestinian group to accept a ceasefire plan with Israel before the Muslim fasting month begins, as early as Sunday depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
However, mediators in Egypt have struggled to overcome tough obstacles, while the United Nations has repeatedly warned that famine looms for Palestinians trapped by the fighting.
“It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilisation that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped,” said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
China, historically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, has been calling for a ceasefire since the war began.