Beijing reiterated that the yearlong conflict in Gaza is the “root cause” of the regional hostilities.
China has responded to the widening hostilities in the Middle East after Iran fired missiles into Israel on Monday, raising fears of all-out war.
The barrage comprised some 180 missiles, a “large number” of which were shot down, according to Israeli officials. Tehran said the missiles were retaliation for the deaths of Iranian military personnel and their allies, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforoushan, a brigadier general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, who died in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran had “made a big mistake” and pledged to make the country “pay for it.”
“China is deeply concerned about the turbulent situation in the Middle East and opposes violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, as well as the intensification of contradictions and the expansion of conflicts”, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement released Wednesday evening, without naming Iran.
