China said on Sunday it was "deeply concerned" by the weekend's dramatic escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, urging all sides to show "calm".
"China is deeply concerned about the current escalation of tension and violence between Palestine and Israel," Beijing's foreign ministry said, adding it "calls on all parties concerned to remain calm and exercise restraint, cease fire immediately, protect civilians and prevent further deterioration of the situation".
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Sunday that the South Asian country was “deeply concerned” with the escalating hostilities in the Middle East, calling on Israel to immediately cease its oppression in occupied Palestine.
Gunmen from Hamas, which governs Gaza, launched a full-scale military operation into Israeli towns and settlements located along the separation fence with Gaza on Saturday morning. At least 200 Israelis were killed, Israel’s ambulance service said, while 1,100 had been wounded, according to the Israeli health ministry.
Tel Aviv responded by conducting deadly air strikes in Palestine, killing at least 232 people and wounding 1,697 others. Hamas said its operation against Israel was in response to the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli authorities and their high-handedness against the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has warned of a “long and difficult war” as the two sides remained locked in battle in several areas on Sunday.
“Pakistan is deeply concerned by the escalating hostility in the Middle East and the loss of innocent lives,” Jilani wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“We stand in solidarity with Palestinians and call for an immediate end to the violence and oppression by Israeli occupation forces.”
A report from Nairobi says, he head of the African Union Commission (AUC) has appealed for an end to the conflict between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas which has killed hundreds on both sides.
Moussa Faki Mahamat called on both parties "to return, without preconditions, to the negotiating table to implement the principle of two States living side by side".
"The Chairperson further calls on the international community, and the major world powers in particular, to assume their responsibilities to impose peace and guarantee the rights of the two peoples," Faki said in a statement posted late Saturday by the 55-member AU bloc on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He "wishes to recall that denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, particularly that of an independent and sovereign State, is the main cause of the permanent Israeli-Palestinian tension," the statement said.
Hamas launched a massive offensive early Saturday against Israel, firing thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as its fighters breached Gaza's security barrier.
Israel's army said the land, sea and air attack -- which saw Hamas fighters shooting residents in Israeli towns and settlements -- had killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded 1,000.
Gun battles raged into Sunday morning between Israeli forces and hundreds of Hamas fighters in multiple Israel locations, while soldiers and civilians were taken hostage.
Gaza officials said intense Israeli air strikes on the coastal enclave had brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 256, with nearly 1,800 wounded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned Israel was "embarking on a long and difficult war" and vowed its response against Hamas would "continue with neither limitations nor respite until the objectives are reached".
Another report adds from Jakarta: Indonesia, a long-time supporter of the Palestinian cause, said on Sunday it was deeply concerned about the escalation of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and called for the violence to end.
"Indonesia is deeply concerned with the escalation of conflict between Palestine and Israel. Indonesia urges the immediate end of violence to avoid further human casualties," the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Indonesia has consistently voiced support for the Palestinian struggle to gain independence.
"The root of the conflict, namely the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel, must be resolved, in accordance with the parameters agreed upon by the UN," the statement said.
The world's most populous Muslim-majority nation has also said it had no interest in opening diplomatic ties with Israel.
In March, FIFA revoked Indonesia's rights to host the Under-20 World Cup following protests by the public and several politicians over Israel's participation in the tournament.
More than 200 Israelis were killed in a surprise large-scale attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday, the Israeli army said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to reduce the group's Gaza hideouts to "rubble", with intense Israeli air strikes on the coastal enclave killing at least 232 Palestinians, Gaza officials said.
It is the conflict's bloodiest escalation in decades.
Western capitals condemned the wave of attacks by Hamas, which Israel, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist group.
