China Urges Israel To Comply With UN Charter After Deadly Attacks Against Humanitarian Aid Convoys

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. (Twitter/@MFA_China)

JAKARTA - The Chinese government condemns the deadly attack that killed seven humanitarian workers working for the non-profit World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The charity and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said the humanitarian workers were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Monday.

"China opposes all actions that endanger civilians, damage civilian facilities and violate international law," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

China was "surprised by the attack," Wang added.

Wang further said civilians should not be targeted, and the safety of international humanitarian aid workers should not be threatened.

He also urged all parties, "mainly Israel," to "fulfill their obligations under the UN Charter, ceasefire immediately and make every effort to protect civilians, hospitals and other civilian facilities specifically protected by the Geneva Convention."

As previously reported, Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven aid workers from a team delivering food to civilians in Gaza, according to WCK and authorities in the enclave.

"They traveled in two armored cars bearing the WCK logo and other vehicles," WCK said in a statement.

Although its movement was coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the convoy was attacked while leaving Deir al-Balah's warehouse, after lowering more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, the WCK said.

"This is not just an attack on the WCK, this is an attack on a humanitarian organization that appears in the most dire situation where food is used as a weapons of war," Erin Gore, chief executive of World Central Kitchen, told Reuters.

Those killed included a US-Canadian dual national, as well as people from Australia, Poland, England and a Palestinian, according to the non-profit organization.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it was conducting a thorough review at the highest level to understand the circumstances it called tragic incidents.

"IDF is making extensive efforts to enable the delivery of safe humanitarian aid, and has cooperated with WCK in their important efforts to provide food and humanitarian assistance to the Gaza community," the IDF said.

Separately, the militant group Hamas said in a statement that the attack was aimed at terrorizing workers of international humanitarian agencies, thus preventing them from carrying out their mission.