After a weekend of bloodshed in Israel and Gaza, China's UN ambassador Zhang Jun said China condemns all attacks against civilians – and has called for a return to the peace process and two-state solution. 

"We condemn all attacks against civilians," Zhang said. "What's really important is to prevent the further escalation of the situation and further casualties of civilians.

"What's also important is really to come back to the two-state solution and the peace process."

Speaking outside closed consultations of the UN Security Council, Zhang said he expected the Council to issue a statement on the conflict. 

"We are in favor of issuing a statement," he said. "As I said, it's a very worrying situation and it's important for the Security Council to have its voice heard."

Senior members of the Israeli military compared Saturday's attacks from Gaza to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., claiming it was the "worst day in Israeli history."

Israel has said 800 people were killed by Hamas, among them at least 73 soldiers, and military spokesman Major Nir Dinar said: "This is our 9/11. They got us." 

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus echoed his sentiments, claiming: "This could be a 9/11 and a Pearl Harbor wrapped into one. It is, by far, the worst day in Israeli history. Never before have so many Israelis been killed by one single thing, let alone enemy activity on one day."

Defense minister Yoav Gallant added: "We are battling beastly people and we are conducting ourselves accordingly." Gallant said he had ordered a total blockade on Gaza, stating: "No electricity. no food, no fuel."

In its retaliation on Gaza since Saturday, Israel has killed about 500 Palestinians. Meanwhile Hamas says it will begin executing Israeli captives if Israel continues to bomb civilian targets without pre-warning, Reuters reported -  in the latest escalation between the two sides.

Global reaction

China said it "opposes and condemns" violence against civilians in Israel and the Palestinian territories. "China is highly concerned about the recent escalation of conflict between Palestine and Israel," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. 

The United States on Monday led a moment of silence at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva to commemorate the dead in Israel. 

"The United States unequivocally condemns these heinous acts of terrorism," Michele Taylor, U.S. Permanent Representative to the council, told the U.N.'s top human rights body. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families affected and express our solidarity with the people and government of Israel in these trying times." 

As UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak prepared to chair an emergency meeting of the country's Cobra response committee on Monday, Britain warned against all but essential travel to Israel. 

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday linked the assault by Hamas on Israel with Russia's attack on Ukraine and criticized Iran over both conflicts. 

Israel was caught off guard on Saturday when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a devastating attack. 

"The only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine. The intentions declared are different, but the essence is the same," Zelenskyy told NATO's Parliamentary Assembly in Copenhagen via video link. 

Iran has denied it has supplied Russia with Shahed kamikaze drones for use in Ukraine and has said it is not involved in the weekend's attacks on Israel. 

The Austrian government announced on Monday it was suspending development aid to Palestinian areas, in reaction to the surprise attack launched by Hamas militants against Israel. 

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Hamas gunmen killed around 250 people who attended an outdoor music festival in an Israeli community near Gaza at the weekend, a volunteer who helped collect the bodies said on Monday. 

"In the area where the party took place, and at the party itself" it could be estimated that "there were 200-250 bodies," said Moti Bukjin, a spokesman for the humanitarian NGO Zaka, based on the number of trucks that ferried away the corpses. 

At least 800 people were killed in southern Israel when Hamas forces stormed across the border, shooting people in the communities and towns near Gaza before security forces began fighting back. 

"I've been a volunteer at Zaka for 28 years," said Bukjin, but after working at a deadly stampede in Meron during a religious festival two years ago, "I thought I reached my end. 

"I wanted to retire after seeing 45 bodies in one place, I thought it was the end of the world," he recalled. "It turns out things can be much, much worse."

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Video editor: Thomas Triebel