Chinese foreign minister says Hamas leader Haniyeh's assassination violates UN Charter

ISTANBUL

Strongly condemning last week's assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the incident “violates” the basic norms of international relations and violates UN Charter.

The killing “leads to further escalation” and has pushed the region into a “more dangerous” situation, warned Wang.

"Retaliatory action leads to a vicious cycle, and violence begets more violence, exacerbating conflict,” he added.

Tensions are running high in the Middle East following the July 31 assassination of Hamas political chief Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran and Israel's killing of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Hamas and Iran both have accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, but Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has vowed a “harsh punishment” for the attack on Iranian soil.

The Palestinian resistance group on Tuesday named its Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau.

Wang discussed Haniyeh’s assassination with Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts during phone calls on Tuesday, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese top diplomat told Badr Abdelatty and Ayman Safadi that Beijing “firmly opposes and strongly condemns the assassination, which violates the basic norms of international relations, infringes upon Iran's sovereignty, undermines the cease-fire negotiation process in Gaza.”

“This assassination violates the basic principles of the UN Charter,” Wang told Egyptian counterpart Abdelatty.

“The key to avoiding the deterioration and escalation of the situation is to achieve a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire in Gaza as soon as possible,” said Wang.

Such acts of assassination, Wang said, “severely undermine efforts to promote peace, and make a cease-fire in Gaza increasingly unattainable.”

He recalled the UN Security Council had adopted cease-fire resolution in Gaza but “the war has not been quelled.”

“There should be no double standards when it comes to the Gaza conflict,” said Wang.

Israel has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border incursion by Hamas said to have claimed 1,200 lives.