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Israel PM Netanyahu convenes emergency cabinet meet, vows to 'demolish Hamas'
Israel-Hamas War: The meeting, held in military headquarters in Tel Aviv, began with ministers standing for a moment's silence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel's expanded emergency cabinet for the first time on Sunday, saying the national unity on display sent a message at home and abroad as as the country gears up to "demolish Hamas" in Gaza.
The meeting, held in military headquarters in Tel Aviv, began with ministers standing for a moment's silence in memory of some 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas' shock Oct 7 onslaught.
Israel's actions in Gaza have gone "beyond the scope of self-defence" and the Israeli government must "cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza", China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in remarks published Sunday.
Wang's remarks, made on a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Saturday, came as Israel appeared poised for a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza.
"Israel's actions have gone beyond the scope of self-defence," Wang said according to a foreign ministry readout.
Read more: China says Israel acting 'beyond scope of self-defence': Cease punishing Gaza
China has increasingly positioned itself as a mediator in the Middle East, brokering a restoration of ties in March between Saudi Arabia and key Hamas backer Iran.
"(Israel) should listen earnestly to the calls of the international community and the UN secretary general, and cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza," Wang added in what is the strongest stance China has expressed so far on the conflict.
More than one million people in the northern part of the crowded enclave of Gaza have been ordered to flee ahead of the expected assault, an exodus that aid groups said would set off a humanitarian disaster.
The cramped and impoverished territory, where 2.3 million residents live on top of each other, has been under a land, air and sea blockade since 2006.
After Hamas fighters broke through the heavily fortified border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to gun down, stab and burn to death more than 1,300 people, Israel launched a massive retaliatory bombing campaign targeting the Islamist group that has killed over 2,200 in Gaza.
