Egyptian officials and the Chinese envoy support a ceasefire and aid for Gaza

In his first public statement following Hamas' attack on Israel, China's special envoy for the Middle East urged assistance for the Palestinian people.

The attack puts Beijing's aspirations to mediate regional peace to the test.

Zhai Jun, China's special representative for the Middle East since 2019, made the request for assistance over the phone with a representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry late on Tuesday.

Beijing has already called for an end to hostilities and condemned violence against civilians, and Zhai reiterated that Beijing is prepared to work with Egypt to achieve an early truce between the two parties to the conflict. He made a demand for action to stop "the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, especially in Gaza."

According to official pronouncements, Xi has not spoken with either Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, or Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, since the violence started on Saturday. On Tuesday, a question regarding whether Xi will phone those leaders was not explicitly addressed by a representative for the Chinese foreign ministry.

Nearly 2,000 people have died in total as a result of the conflict, and Israel's military claims it is constructing a facility to house thousands of soldiers in anticipation of the coming phase of its reprisal. Hamas, which the US and Europe have designated as a terrorist organization, warned late on Monday that it was ready to kill any hostages it had kidnapped in the event that Israel attacked.