In Egypt, Wang Yi calls for Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian statehood

Israel launched an intense military campaign in response to Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official figures.

In Gaza, at least 23,968 people have been killed, most them women and children, according to the health ministry in the besieged Hamas-ruled territory.

Shoukri and Wang called for “an international summit for peace to find a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause by ending the [Israeli] occupation and establishing an independent, contiguous Palestinian state”.

As Israel-Gaza war drags on, China could rise as a peacemaker

Gaza and the occupied West Bank, seat of the Palestinian Authority, are separated by Israeli territory. Both were seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, although Israel unilaterally withdrew the last of its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005.

China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Wang is currently on an African tour that will see him also visit Togo, Tunisia and Ivory Coast.