China calls for 'urgent actions' as Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants killed

China has called on the UN Security Council to take "urgent actions" to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

The calls by China's permanent representative to the UN, Fu Cong, came as Israel's military said it killed 15 Hezbollah militants in south Lebanon on Thursday and bombed Beirut. 

This followed its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with the Iran-backed group.

Chinese representative Fu told a Security Council briefing on Wednesday that it needed to make clear and unequivocal demands to stop the cycle of violence.

"The Security Council bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security," Fu said, noting that all parties concerned "must return to the track of political and diplomatic solutions".

Warning that the current situation is "hanging by a thread," Fu said that any "passive procrastination would be irresponsible, and any rhetoric of condoning further military adventurism would send a wrong message."

Fu said the spreading Middle East conflict had already caused an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with Gaza having become a "hell on earth," and over 1.2 million people displaced in Lebanon.

China's Foreign Ministry has urged all parties and especially Israel to immediately cool things down to prevent the situation from getting out of control. Beijing has also said it opposes any violation of Lebanon's sovereignty.

Israel kills 15 Hezbollah members

Israel said it killed 15 Hezbollah members in a strike on the municipality building of the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil where they were operating.

Israel said it had conducted a precise air strike on the Lebanese capital. At least six people were killed and seven wounded, Lebanese health officials said. 

"Another sleepless night in Beirut. Counting the blasts shaking the city. No warning sirens. Not knowing what's next. Only that uncertainty lies ahead. Anxiety and fear are omnipresent," U.N. special coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said on X on Thursday.

Israeli troops killed

A day after Iran fired more than 180 missiles into Israel, Israel said on Wednesday eight soldiers were killed in ground combat in south Lebanon as its forces thrust into its northern neighbor.

Iran said on Wednesday its missile volley - its biggest ever assault on Israel - was over, barring further provocation, but Israel and the United States promised to hit back hard.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called for serious ceasefire efforts to stop Israel's "aggression" in Lebanon and said no peace was possible in the Middle East without the creation of a Palestinian state.

What is happening in the Middle East is a "collective genocide" he said at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit in Doha, adding that his country has always warned of Israel's "impunity".

Speaking at the same gathering, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned against "silence" in the face of Israel's "warmongering".

Three Israeli missiles also hit the southern suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed last week, and loud blasts were heard, Lebanese security officials said.

Houthis target Tel Aviv

The elimination of Nasrallah dealt a major blow to Hezbollah which he developed into Lebanon's most influential military and political force with wide reach in the Middle East and removed Iran's most powerful proxy.

Hezbollah and Iran's other regional allies, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in Iraq, have launched attacks in the region in support of Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza.

The Houthis, who have been firing missiles, sending armed drones and launching boats laden with explosives at commercial ships with ties to Israeli, U.S. and UK entities since last year, said they launched a successful attack on Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv with drones.

Israel said it intercepted a suspicious aerial target in the area of central Israel early on Thursday.

Evacuation

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) urged residents of Lebanese villages who have evacuated their homes not to return until further notice.

More than 1,900 people have been killed and over 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said about 1.2 million Lebanese had been displaced by Israeli attacks.

Western nations have drafted contingency plans to evacuate citizens from Lebanon after Tuesday's dramatic escalation, but none have launched a large-scale military evacuation yet, though some are chartering aircraft as Beirut airport stays open.

Damascus attack

A consultant working for Iran's Revolutionary Guards has died from injuries sustained in an Israeli air attack on the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, Iran's Student News Network reported on Thursday.

It identified the consultant as Majid Divani, without giving further details.

The attack appeared to be the same as one reported by Syrian state media, which said on Tuesday that three civilians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital Damascus.

When asked about the reported attack, the Israeli military said on Tuesday that it does not comment on foreign media reports.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday