ANKARA

China on Tuesday urged the international community to act "urgently" to implement a cease-fire in Gaza, saying "double standards" on human rights and international humanitarian law must be abandoned. 

"The killing of civilians in Gaza must be stopped. Injustice done to the Palestinian people must be corrected. The double standards against human rights and international humanitarian law must be abandoned," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a routine press briefing in Beijing.

"The longer the flames in Gaza flare up, the more the humanity is scourged by conscience, the more the cornerstone of justice is eroded."

The official called on the international community to "act urgently" for an immediate cease-fire in the enclave as an "overwhelming priority and the humanitarian aid in Gaza as a pressing moral responsibility."

He quoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi who stressed that "this is a tragedy for humanity and a disgrace for civilization."

Moe than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which killed 1,200 people and took around 250 as hostages.​​​​​​​

The military onslaught has led to mass destruction, displacement and shortages of necessities in the besieged territory, with children also dying of malnutrition and dehydration.

Egypt, Qatar and the US had sought to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas before the start of Ramadan, but to no avail. ​​​​​​​