China calls for Palestine to join UN

Beijing/Jerusalem: China reiterated calls to admit Palestine to the UN on Thursday, and Norway warned companies against doing business in Israeli settlements, as international criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza mounted.

After nearly five months of war, much of Gaza is in ruins.

International pressure is growing for Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would halt the fighting and release the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

On Wednesday, South Africa went to the United Nations’ top court seeking additional orders for Israel to let aid into the Gaza Strip, and the British foreign minister said Israel’s allies were losing patience over the humanitarian situation.

South Africa accuses Israel of violating provisional measures imposed by the International Court of Justice on January 26, when judges ordered Israel to do all it could to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.

Israel’s near-total blockade of Gaza and the ongoing fighting have made it nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza, aid groups say. Many of the estimated 300,000 people still living in Gaza have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive.