International Desk

China described Israel's war in Gaza as a "disgrace to civilization" and called on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire as the conflict stretched into its sixth month despite efforts by mediators to reach a truce.

Hamas said in a statement it had "shown the required flexibility with the aim of reaching an agreement", insisting on a complete halt to the fighting instead of a six-week halt that Israel has pushed for.

However, mediators in Egypt have struggled to overcome tough obstacles in their attempts to negotiate a pause, while the United Nations has warned that famine looms for Palestinians trapped by the fighting.

"It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilization that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a news conference in Beijing. China, historically sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, has been calling for a ceasefire since October 7.

"The international community must act urgently, making an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities an overriding priority, and ensuring humanitarian relief an urgent moral responsibility," Wang said.

Israel's attacks have reduced vast stretches of Gaza to a wasteland of gutted buildings and rubble and sparked a humanitarian disaster for its 2.4 million people.

Ramadan tensions

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed at least 30,717 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to push on with the campaign to destroy Hamas, before or after any truce deal.

US President Joe Biden called on Hamas on Tuesday to accept a truce plan brokered by US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, saying "it's in the hands of Hamas right now."

However, Hamas says a permanent halt to fighting and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops is necessary.

Another known sticking point centers on an Israeli demand for Hamas to provide a list of hostages still being held, a task Hamas says it is unable to complete while Israeli bombing continues.

Violence has flared in past years during Ramadan in annexed east Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

According to Gaza's health ministry, one of the latest victims was a 15-year-old girl who died at Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital.

Health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said "the famine in northern Gaza has reached lethal levels" and could claim thousands of lives unless Gaza receives more aid and medical supplies.

Gazans were waiting to collect bags of flour outside a UN refugee agency office in the southern city of Rafah, now home to nearly 1.5 million Palestinians, most of them displaced by the war.

"The flour they provide is not enough," said displaced man Muhammad Abu Odeh. "They do not provide us with sugar or anything else except flour."