Israel Expresses ‘Deep Disappointment’ Over China’s Response to Hamas Attack

Rocket shells are left on the grass outside a house on Oct. 11, 2023 where civilians and soldiers were killed by Hamas terrorists days earlier in Be'eri, Israel. Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Israel said on Friday that it has expressed “deep disappointment” to a Chinese foreign ministry official over the regime’s response to the Hamas attack last weekend.

The statement was issued before a male employee at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed, prompting the United States to urge its citizens in China to “maintain vigilance with regard to personal security.”

Israeli foreign ministry official Rafi Harpaz had a phone call with Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy to the Middle East, on Thursday.

“The ambassador expressed Israel’s deep disappointment with Chinese announcements and statements about the recent events in the south, where there was no clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organization Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in the statement, according to translation.

According to the summary of the phone call issued by Beijing’s foreign ministry, Mr. Zhai repeated the regime’s stance in the Isreal–Hamas war, saying that Beijing is “deeply concerned” about the “escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel.” While Mr. Zhai said he was “saddened by civilian casualties caused by the conflict,” he still didn’t name Hamas.

The Chinese regime has avoided mentioning Hamas by name, which it labeled as a resistance organization. The United States and other Western countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist group.

In the regime’s first statement issued after the strike by Hama on Israel, a foreign ministry’s spokesperson ​"urged “relevant parties” to stay calm and exercise restraint

The regime’s initial response drew criticism from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), while he is leading a bipartisan group visiting Beijing. On Monday, Mr. Schumer told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he was “disappointed” by the regime’s lack of sympathy for the Israeli people, urging Mr. Xi to “condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks.”

The Israeli Embassy in Beijing also urged China to “provide solidarity and support to Israel.” A senior Israeli official at the embassy also said his country expected “stronger condemnation” of Hamas by Beijing.

Later on Monday, the regime updated its response to the Israel–Hamas conflict.

“We are very saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict, and also oppose and condemn such acts against civilians,” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said at a regular briefing on Monday. She didn’t mention Hamas by name.

When pressed by reporters about the Israeli diplomat’s call for “stronger condemnation” of Hamas, Ms. Mao replied, “China is a friend to both Israel and Palestine.”

Pro-Palestine Comments Flood China

While the regime avoided picking a side, China’s state media responded to the latest Israel–Hamas conflict with an old tactic, putting the blame on Washington.

A day after the Hamas strike, China’s hawkish state-run media Global Times published an editorial, blaming the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts on the Western countries led by the United States. It portrayed America as a malicious country that has for years fueled the conflicts in the Middle East.

Echoing the official narrative, China’s tightly controlled social media are flooded with images and videos showing Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and the devastations of Palestinian civilians.

A ball of fire erupts from the Jala Tower as it is destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Hamas targets in Gaza city, which is controlled by the Hamas movement, on May 15, 2021. Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

Palestinians displaced from their homes as a result of Israeli raids in Gaza City, Gaza, on Oct. 13, 2023. Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

While censors did keep some posts condemning the Hamas’ attack on children and women, such comments often drew criticism and attacks.

“Did the United States give you money?” a user commented on Twitter-like Weibo, in response to a post that accused Hamas of using civilians as their “shield” and “weapons.”

When the Consulate General of Israel in Guangzhou posted a video on Weibo, calling Hamas to release children and other hostages, pro-Palestine and antisemitic comments dominated the comment section.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization!” the Israel consulate wrote on Friday. “Please release the children! Please release all the hostages! Children speak for Israel. They should not experience these.”

“So the Palestinian children’s lives don’t matter?” a Weibo user questioned, which garnered over 1,300 likes. Another netizen replied, “I hate your country more.”

Israeli Embassy Employee Injured

On Friday afternoon, a staffer at the Israeli embassy in Beijing was assaulted. Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the person was in a stable condition in hospital.

The attack did not happen within the embassy compound itself, the statement said, which is just one embassy over from that of the United States and in an area with a number of other embassies with a heavy police presence.

An investigation into the attack is underway, the statement said.

Local police later said in a statement that the suspect was a 53-year-old foreign man. The authorities said the man who was engaged in a small commodities business in Beijing has been arrested.

But they said the victim is a 50-year-old male, calling him “a family member of an Israeli diplomat.”

Unverified videos on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed a blood-stained man lying on the pavement by a car, telling bystanders he was from the Israeli embassy.

A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard at the entrance to the Israeli embassy in Beijing on October 13, 2023, after an embassy employee was attacked elsewhere in the city. Michael Zhang /AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said he was “shocked” by the incident, adding that he had spoken with Israel’s Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Abba.

“[We] have offered our full support to the Israeli Embassy and Israeli community in China,” Mr. Burns wrote on X.

The U.S. embassy in China recommends Americans to “maintain vigilance” though no specific threats were detected.

“An Israeli diplomat was stabbed today in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. The US Embassy does not have details on the motivation of the attacker. The US Embassy is not aware of specific threats to US citizens but recommends maintaining vigilance with regard to personal security,” the embassy said.

Reuters contributed to this report.