Xi urges 'immediate' ceasefire, release of detainees in Israel-Hamas war

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for the release of civilian detainees and an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, he addressed a virtual summit of BRICS leaders.

Xi also called for an "international peace conference" to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Since the outbreak of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China has been working actively to promote peace talks and a ceasefire," he said.

Pretoria hosted the virtual meeting of BRICS, with the major emerging economies including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa aimed at drawing up a common response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinians and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.