By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Monday said it was “deeply saddened” over the death of Palestinian journalists, urging Israel to cease fire “immediately.”
“We express our condolences to Al-Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh, who lost his son,” said Mao Ning, spokeswoman of China’s Foreign Ministry.
Two Palestinian journalists were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, bringing the death toll since Oct. 7 to 109, the government media office said.
The office identified the two victims as Hamza Wael Al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh, and Mustafa Thuraya, who lost their lives in an Israeli bombing on their car in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Mao said China urges “all parties concerned, especially Israel, to exercise restraint, effectively implement relevant UN resolutions, cease fire immediately and avoid further tragedy,” Mao said.
Since Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, Israel has continued relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 22,835 Palestinians and injuring more than 58,400 others, according to local health authorities.
Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicines.