ISTANBUL 

China on Monday said steps toward peace in the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza were “small” but were “still worthy of positive encouragement.”

“Since Israel and Hamas reached a truce agreement, both sides have released three batches of detained individuals,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesman of China’s Foreign Ministry.

“Even if the steps toward peace are small, they are still worthy of positive encouragement,” Wang told reporters in Beijing, according to the daily Global Times.

“The difficulties in protecting civilians should be overcome no matter how big they are,” Wang said.

During the first three days of the pause, Hamas released 40 Israelis and 18 foreigners, while Israel released 117 Palestinians.

A four-day humanitarian pause mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US went into effect on Friday, temporarily halting Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas.

It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will chair a high-level UN Security Council meeting in New York on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Wednesday.

China is currently the rotating president of the UN Security Council.

“China is committed to taking concrete actions and making its due contributions,” Wang, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in Beijing on Monday.