US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that he will work with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading when they meet later this week.
Blinken called on the 15-member council to help contain the conflict, amid soaring tensions after Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7.
“Members of this council, and permanent members in particular, have a special responsibility to prevent this conflict from spreading,” Blinken said, warning Iran and its proxies in the region not to open up more fronts in the war.
“I look forward to continuing to work with my counterpart from the People’s Republic of China to do precisely that, when he visits Washington later this week.”
Wang is set to arrive in the United States on Thursday for talks with Blinken and President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, as Washington seeks to ensure the intense competition between the world’s two largest economies and their disagreements over a host of issues from trade to Taiwan and the South China Sea does not veer into conflict.
US officials also want Beijing to use its influence with Iran and other countries in the Middle East to help prevent the conflict from spreading.
Israel’s bombing and siege of Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks has stirred anger in Muslim-majority countries, and Washington fears an imminent ground offensive could spark a wider conflict.
China has consistently called for restraint and a ceasefire in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, but has also sharpened its criticism of Israel.
China’s Wang Yi will travel to US this week to meet Antony Blinken
China’s Wang Yi will travel to US this week to meet Antony Blinken
Standing with his Arab counterparts, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters at the United Nations that the threat of the conflict spreading was a “real danger”.
“We’re all doing everything we can to stop it. There’s the threat of this expanding into the West Bank, into Lebanon, into other fronts. None of us want that, we’re all working against that,” he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded on Tuesday for civilians to be protected in the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, voicing concern about “clear violations of international humanitarian law” in the Gaza Strip.
More than 700 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli air strikes, Gaza’s health ministry said, the highest 24-hour death toll since Israel began a bombing campaign to crush Hamas militants who stunned the country with a deadly October 7 attack.
Guterres told the Security Council that at a “crucial moment like this,” it was vital to be clear that war has rules, starting with the fundamental principle of respecting and protecting civilians.
“It is important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” Guterres said.
“But the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he said.
Israel bombs hundreds of targets as Gaza death toll passes 5,000
Israel bombs hundreds of targets as Gaza death toll passes 5,000
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan described Guterres’ speech as “shocking”.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he called on Guterres to immediately resign, while Israel’s visiting Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that he would no longer meet with Guterres later on Tuesday as planned.
“I will not meet with the UN secretary general. After October 7 there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world!” Cohen wrote.