China denies providing weapons to Hamas in Israel-Gaza war
- For the first time since conflict began, Beijing rejects allegations that it is arming Palestinian militant group
- The denial comes after Israeli military reportedly discovers ‘massive’ stockpile of Chinese-made weapons being used by Hamas
“It needs to be emphasised that China has always adopted a prudent and responsible attitude when it comes to arms exports and strictly follows the three principles of arms exports,” Wu said.
According to China’s regulations on arms exports, Beijing’s weapons sales should serve the legitimate self-defence capabilities of the recipient country, should not harm world and regional peace, security and stability, and should not interfere in the recipient country’s domestic affairs.
The IDF’s investigation said Hamas possessed advanced weapons and equipment made in China, such as cartridges and rifle sights for M16 assault rifles, automatic grenade launchers and communications devices.
Why China is unlikely to join US-led force against Houthi attacks in Red Sea
“This is top-grade weaponry and communications technology, stuff that Hamas did not have before, with very sophisticated explosives which have never been found before and especially on such a large scale,” an Israeli intelligence source said, according to The Telegraph.
The United States and other Western allies have stood with Israel after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 7 that left an estimated 1,200 dead and about 240 taken hostage.
Hamas has released about 100 of the hostages, but Israel says about 130 remain in Gaza.
Last week while visiting Cairo, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi called for the convening of a “larger-scale, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference” to implement a “two-state solution” and resume peace talks to end the war in Gaza.