China's permanent representative to the UN, Fu Cong, stressed on Wednesday the need to ensure humanitarian access and aid in the Gaza Strip, to prevent their politicization and weaponization, while also opposing Israel's forced displacement of Palestinians at a UN Security Council meeting.
At the meeting, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell highlighted the significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
He noted the acute shortages of food, water, power, and fuel, as well as the paralysis of medical services and the worsening child malnutrition in the enclave and stressed that Israel's blockade on humanitarian aid entering Gaza has made the situation extremely challenging.
Fu stated at the meeting that China firmly opposes the politicization and weaponization of humanitarian aid and urges Israel to immediately lift the blockade on Gaza and fully restore access to humanitarian supplies.
"The UN has repeatedly stated that the militarized distribution mechanism of humanitarian aid promoted by the United States and Israel violates the principles of fairness, independence, and neutrality. This mechanism is insufficient to alleviate the humanitarian situation and on the contrary has repeatedly led to significant civilian casualties," said the envoy.
"The humanitarian agencies, including the UN, possess complete systems and extensive experience, enabling them to deliver humanitarian supplies on a large scale to various parts of Gaza. All parties should support the UN in conducting relief efforts in a manner that aligns with humanitarian principles. Israel is obligated to provide security and all necessary facilitation to the UN," he said.
Fu further stated that China is deeply concerned about Israel's continued issuance of evacuation orders, which have displaced over 1.9 million people in Gaza, emphasizing that China firmly opposes all attempts to forcibly evacuate Palestinians.
The Chinese representative urged Israel to immediately halt its military operations in Gaza and reiterated that the two-state solution is the only viable way to address the Palestinian issue, expressing hope that the upcoming high-level UN conference on the two-state solution will inject strong momentum into advancing the political process.
China demands guaranteed humanitarian access, aid in Gaza: UN representative
