China closely following situation of Palestinian-Israeli conflict: FM spokesperson

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China is closely following the ongoing situation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and hopes parties will work to enable the continuous and effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said here Tuesday.

Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query about the large-scale attack launched by Israel in Gaza Strip early in the morning, breaking the ceasefire. Over 300 people, most of them women and children, were reported to be killed so far in this military operation, and civilian casualties are mounting.

"We hope parties will work to enable the continuous and effective implementation of the ceasefire agreement, refrain from any escalatory action and prevent further deepening the humanitarian disaster," Mao said.