The UN Security Council (UNSC) met in an emergency session late Monday to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip amid continuing Israeli bombardment and reported ground incursions.

The Council first heard briefings from the UN and its agencies, which highlighted the gravity of the situation as well as the population's needs and suffering due to the bombing and violence that resulted in their deaths and displacement.

China’s Ambassador, Zhang Jun, said an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly had supported a humanitarian pause last Friday during the emergency special session but Israel has "turned a deaf ear to all this" by beginning its ground assault on the enclave.

He added that Gaza has been under blockade for "16 long years" and the 2.3m innocent people of the enclave are now living in "utter fear". If left unchecked, he said, the situation will spiral further out of control and a greater catastrophe will be inevitable.

The Middle East peace process, he stressed, is now "on the brink of collapse." Cease all hostilities, set a humanitarian truce in place, and prevent escalation, he said.

He called on Israel to lift its siege, rescind the evacuation order, and restore supply of basic necessities, urging for intensified diplomatic efforts to secure hostage releases and return to the track of a political settlement.

Additionally, the envoy highlighted that Gazans did not need more parroting of promises, but rather "concrete actions" which could bring peace, reestablish the rule of law, and save civilian lives.

"Inaction", he said, is tantamount to a green light for the violence to continue, warning that history will record the Council’s choice.