"China is deeply concerned about the escalating tension and violence between Israel and Palestine, (and) is saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict," Middle East envoy Zhai Jun told Israeli foreign ministry official Rafael Harpaz, according to a ministry statement.
Beijing "condemns the harm to innocent civilians and calls for a ceasefire and an end to violence as early as possible, as well as the resumption of peace talks based on a two-state solution to enhance the confidence of the people on both sides in achieving peace," Zhai said.
"China has no selfish interests on the Palestinian issue and has always stood on the side of peace, fairness and justice," he added.
"China sincerely hopes that Israel and Palestine can coexist peacefully, and is willing to work with the international community to promote peace talks and create conditions for the realisation of peace."
Beijing said Thursday that three of its nationals had been killed in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, while two others were "uncontactable" and "a number were injured".
In a separate call with a Palestinian official, Zhai said China was "deeply concerned by the serious deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in Palestine", according to a foreign ministry readout released on Wednesday.
"The top priorities are an immediate ceasefire and the protection of civilians," Zhai was quoted as saying.
Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took about 150 hostages in their surprise onslaught Saturday. Israel has retaliated by raining air and artillery strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza for six days, claiming over 1,350 lives there.
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