Remarks by Ambassador Fu Cong at the UN Security Council Briefing on the Lebanese-Israeli Situation 2024-09-20

http://un.china-mission.gov.cn/eng/chinaandun/securitycouncil/regionalhotspots/mideast/202409/t20240921_11494229.htm

(Ed Note: Ambassador Fu Cong stated his words in the strongest terms and with a harsh tone! I have never seen such a strong statement, stated in such a strong tone by any Chinese speaker).

President,

I thank Algeria for requesting this meeting, and welcome the presence of Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. I listened carefully to the briefings by Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo and High Commissioner Volker Türk.

Thousand of communications devices in Lebanon, including pagers and two-way radios, were detonated remotely and simultaneously. The explosions caused thousands of civilian casualties. China hereby registers profound shock and grave concerns over this development. Children playing in the streets lost their eyes. Mothers shopping in supermarkets had their limbs maimed. Doctors on their way to work were critically injured. These and other harrowing scenes are distressing beyond imagination. 

Remotely detonating communications devices in indiscriminate attacks causing mass civilian casualties and panic in society is unheard of in history. This act is, without a doubt, a gross violation of a country’s sovereignty and security and a blatant breach of international law, particularly international humanitarian law. It is an act that tramples on human lives with unconscionable callousness. The attacks were so outrageously brutal and atrocious that they deserve nothing less than condemnation in the strongest terms. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the said attacks, but different parties have come to more or less the same conclusion as to who did it. We call for a prompt, full investigation to hold the orchestrators and implementers to account.

Right now, the situation in the Middle East is hanging by a thread. Israel’s military operations in Gaza are still ongoing, which have already claimed more than 40,000 Palestinian lives. Meanwhile, Israel is also heightening the tensions around its border with Lebanon. We are informed by some analysis that the recent remotely executed attacks are a precursor to major military operations. We have also taken note of the latest statement from the Hezbollah leadership. We are deeply concerned by the possibility of further escalation of the tensions between Lebanon and Israel. We call on the parties to exercise maximum restraint, and call on Israel, in particular, to forego its obsession with the use of force and to halt without delay its military operations in Gaza, its violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and security, and its adventurism that risks dragging the region into yet another devastating catastrophe. We strongly urge countries with influence over Israel to take tangible steps to stop Israel from going further down the wrong path. We support the Security Council in taking all necessary actions and doing all it can to ease the situation between Lebanon and Israel and to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East.

Thank you, President.

China: “Remotely detonating communications devices in indiscriminate attacks, causing mass civilian casualties and panic is unheard of in history… The attacks were so outrageously brutal and atrocious that they deserve nothing less than condemnation in the strongest terms.” pic.twitter.com/PGGYFI8G9v

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) September 20, 2024