UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called on the parties concerned to take tangible actions to push for deescalation and the restoration of peace and tranquility in the Middle East region.

China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh that took place in Iran's capital Tehran, said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, in remarks at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

Denouncing the act as a blatant attempt to sabotage peace efforts and wantonly trampled on the fundamental UN Charter principle of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, Fu said China is deeply worried about an exacerbation of the upheaval in the region that this incident may trigger.

He expressed disappointment over the ceasefire negotiations. "Over two months ago, the council adopted Resolution 2735. As of now, however, ceasefire negotiations have yet to yield any progress, while the spillover effects of this conflict are increasingly visible, with the tensions between Lebanon and Israel, between Syria and Israel, and in the Red Sea sounding the alarm frequently."

"The Middle East situation is hanging by a thread, much to the concern of the international community," he warned,

"Given the severity of the situation, the parties concerned must heed the international calls for a ceasefire and cessation of fighting," said the ambassador, urging the parties to implement Security Council resolutions fully, actively coordinate with and support international good offices, and take tangible actions to push for deescalation and the restoration of peace and tranquility in the region.

"They must not act singlemindedly and repeatedly take provocative or risky actions to stoke escalations," he said. "We strongly object to and condemn the recent irresponsible acts, including Israel's attack on Southern Beirut."

Emphasizing that "military means and abuse of force offer no solution and will only lead to a bigger crisis," Fu said the continued deterioration of the Middle East situation is directly attributable to the continuous failure to implement a ceasefire in Gaza.

He called on all parties to comply with the overwhelming international consensus and work jointly for an immediate ceasefire to save lives, mitigate the impact of the havoc, and contain any spillovers. "We urge Israel to implement council resolutions in full, immediately halt all its military operations in Gaza, and immediately stop its collective punishment of the people in Gaza."

Fu also urged countries with major influence to put more pressure and work more vigorously on the parties concerned and make tangible good-faith efforts to put out the flames of war in Gaza.