Chinese envoy calls for end of violence in Gaza

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Wednesday urged the relevant parties to stop the violence in the war-torn Gaza Strip, stressing that China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting regional peace and stability.

Speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Palestine-Israel conflict, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said the escalation of the situation between Lebanon and Israel has aroused widespread concern from the international community. At the same time, the situation in Gaza has continued to deteriorate. Israel has not eased its military operations in Gaza at all, and the civilians in Gaza have been struggling in misery.

"In the past two weeks, Israel has not eased its military operations against Gaza at all, keeping attacking and bombing schools and hospitals, completely cutting off the transportation of supplies to northern Gaza, and once again forcibly ordering hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate urgently. Israeli shells caused big fires, and some displaced Palestinian civilians were burned to death in the sea of fire. Human beings as everyone of us, why do they have to endure such suffering just because they are born in Gaza? Two million people have been struggling on the verge of death for more than a year. How long will it take before they see the hope to live?" Fu said.

The Chinese envoy said that the Security Council must uphold and revive the authority of international humanitarian law. He said using hunger as a weapon of war is a serious war crime. Humanitarian organizations are maintaining the lifeline of the people in Gaza, and it is intolerable that they face suppression, restrictions and even security threats. Israel should fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law and immediately lift the blockade and restrictions on humanitarian access to the entire Gaza region, according to Fu.

Fu stressed that the Security Council has passed a variety of resolutions on the situation in Gaza, explicitly calling for a ceasefire, but none of them has been effectively implemented. This has brought a serious blow to the credibility of the entire U.N. system. He said that the Security Council resolutions are binding on all countries and must be implemented. He also called on the United States to take further action to promote a ceasefire.

"In this regard, we particularly hope that the United States will respond to the strong call of the international community and support the United Nations in taking further actions to achieve an immediate ceasefire. It should be pointed out that according to reports, the United States has provided Israel with more than 17 billion U.S. dollars in military assistance since October last year. Under the current circumstances, whether large-scale supply of weapons is conducive to the realization of the goals of the relevant Security Council resolutions is a question that deserves serious consideration," he said.

Fu said that the implementation of the "two-state solution" is the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian issue. Israel must stop eroding and undermining the foundation of the "two-state solution" and return to the right track. The international community has the responsibility to provide guarantees for the implementation of the solution.

Fu said China is willing to continue to play a constructive role and make unremitting efforts to promote early cessation of war and realization of regional peace.

Chinese envoy calls for end of violence in Gaza

In response to the influx of Lebanese refugees, Syria has scrambled to set up various refugee sanctuaries across the country to accommodate people who flee the ravage of war in neighboring Lebanon.

Among these sanctuaries is the one located in Homs Governorate, central Syria.

The sanctuary, converted from a monastery, provides shelter for about 88 people from 20 displaced Lebanese families fleeing Israeli bombardment across the border, with some families having stayed here for 15 days.

"Since the start of the current [Israeli] invasion of Lebanon, we have begun to receive families from Lebanon, and we have done our best in accordance with the instructions of the governor of Homs. As of today, we have received 295 families. They are staying in local homes through the hospitality of the residents in our town," said Fayyad, a local official.

Some of these refugees are children, who have been forced out of school by the brutal war. Most of them have witnessed air strikes and deaths that take a toll on their psychological health.

"Some of them have had very difficult experiences, witnessed violent and disturbing events. War is hard. It's a very challenging experience for children. We want to make sure that these experiences don't turn into psychological problems or, hopefully, mental illness in the future. We hope that we can offer something meaningful and be a strong advocate for these children," said Sasa, head of a child protection program.

The shelter distributes basic supplies to refugees, including sugar, rice, oil and baby milk powder.

Currently, some 3,000 Lebanese refugees are crossing into Syria every day. The Syrian government said it will try every means help the Lebanese refugees.

Syria scrambles to set up shelters to deal with influx of Lebanese refugees