Nation readies assistance for Palestine

China on Friday welcomed a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip, and pledged to provide $1 million in cash to Palestine as emergency humanitarian assistance.

China will also donate 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said during a news conference in Beijing.

China will push for a comprehensive review of the Palestinian question at the UN Security Council to reaffirm the two-state solution, Zhao said, calling for the international community to help Israelis and Palestinians to reopen peace negotiations and bring about a comprehensive, just and enduring solution to the Palestinian question on the basis of the two-state solution.

He added that Beijing will invite representatives from Israel and Palestine to hold a peace symposium in China at an appropriate time and welcomes the two countries to carry out direct negotiations in China.

Earlier on Friday, the China International Development Cooperation Agency also said China will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian government at the earliest possible date.

11 days of deadly fighting

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to hold on Friday after 11 days of deadly fighting that pounded the Palestinian enclave and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.

Gaza City began the day quietly under a cover of fluffy clouds, with only a thin column of smoke wafting into the skies after Israeli airstrikes came to a halt, Agence France-Presse reported.

Celebrations were heard on Gaza streets in the minutes after the truce began as cars honked their horns and some guns were fired in the air, while in the occupied West Bank, joyful crowds also took to the streets.

With no alerts sounding in Israel to warn of incoming Hamas rockets, calm reigned across much of the Jewish state.

Residents on both sides of the conflict voiced relief that a ceasefire had taken effect.

"It's a good decision to be honest with you because people from both sides are done with what's going on," said Amwrah Dana, a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem.

In Tel Aviv, Avital Fast said he wanted to be optimistic about the cease-fire. "I really hope that it will remain because the only thing that we want here is to live our life without any alarms or fire," Fast said.

The truce brokered by Egypt -that also included Gaza's second-most powerful armed group, Islamic Jihad－was agreed following mounting international pressure to stem the bloodshed which erupted on May 10. Hamas and Islamic Jihad also confirmed the cease-fire in statements.

However, fresh clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police officers broke out at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Agence France-Presse reported.

Security delegations

Egypt will send security delegations to Israel and Palestine to ensure the implementation of the cease-fire, the official MENA news agency reported on Thursday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who welcomed the deal, said Israelis and Palestinians now have a responsibility to have "a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict".

He also called on the international community to work with the UN on a "robust package of support for a swift, sustainable reconstruction and recovery".

Zhang Jun, China's ambassador to the UN, said on Twitter: "Good news! Greater efforts needed to consolidate the progress, end the crisis for good, and seek a just settlement for the question of #Palestine. More actions should be taken to provide humanitarian aid to ease the people's suffering."

US President Joe Biden also welcomed the truce.

"I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I'm committed to working toward it," Biden said at the White House, hailing Egypt's role in brokering the agreement.

A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the security cabinet had "unanimously accepted the recommendation of all of the security officials ... to accept the Egyptian initiative for a mutual cease-fire without preconditions".

Fighting erupted earlier this month after weeks of tensions in Jerusalem, notably over planned evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers, and clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The Israeli army said Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza have since fired more than 4,300 rockets toward Israel. The rockets have claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an Israeli soldier, with one Indian and two Thai nationals among those killed, the police say.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, and have wounded a further 1,900, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Zhou Jin in Beijing, agencies, Xinhua and Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles contributed to this story.