UPDATE - China, France, demanding 'immediate' cease-fire in Gaza, oppose Israeli operation in Rafah

UPDATES WITH MORE COMMENTS FROM JOINT STATEMENT; CHANGES HEADER

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Stressing the need for an “immediate and sustainable" cease-fire, China and France on Tuesday opposed Israel's military operation in Rafah city in the Palestinian besieged enclave of Gaza.

Condemning the violations of international humanitarian law, including all acts of terrorist violence and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, Beijing and Paris reaffirmed the “absolute necessity of protecting civilians in Gaza.”

The joint statement was released after Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held summit-level talks in Paris on Monday.

It said the two heads of state “oppose the Israeli attack on Rafah, which will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe on a larger scale, as well as the forcible transfer of Palestinian civilians.”

Calling for an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the two sides called for “effective opening of all necessary access routes and crossings for the rapid, safe, sustainable and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip.”

Xi and Macron also called for an “immediate and effective implementation of the relevant UN resolutions" as it is the “only credible way to guarantee peace and security for all and to ensure that neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis will have to endure the horrors of what has happened since the October 7, 2023 attack.”

The statement came as the Israeli army on Tuesday said its forces have seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

In a statement, the Israeli army said its 401st armored brigade took "operational control" of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.

The Israeli army issued immediate evacuation orders early Monday for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Since then, the Israeli onslaught has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.