Israel’s prolonged Gaza war offers China strategic opportunity in Mideast

SHANGHAI — Led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has embarked on an over 10-month-long offensive throughout Gaza in response to an attack launched by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. In turn, the Israeli response has led to the killing of more than 40,000 Palestinians. 

Over the past months, the International Court of Justice has called on Israel to refrain from committing any acts in Gaza that fall under the Convention on Genocide and ruled that the occupation of Palestinian territories contributes to a system of apartheid. At the same time, while large demonstrations have taken place on numerous university campuses in the United States, signs of dissent have emerged within the Biden administration, and some State Department officials have resigned in protest. Yet unconditional support from the US to its closest partner in the Middle East has not changed in any concrete way. Tellingly, the transfer of new weapons and munitions was approved even after Israeli tanks entered Rafah in late May, despite President Joe Biden’s threat of scaling down support were Israel to do just that. Donald Trump, who — according to The Washington Post — told his donors that he would crush pro-Palestinian protests, is unlikely to change course if elected. Vice President Kamala Harris has adopted different rhetoric than Biden's but has not yet committed to any concrete policy changes.

Against this background, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping talked about his country entering “a period of development in which strategic opportunities, risks and challenges are concurrent and uncertainties and unforeseen factors are rising,” Israel’s continuous military operations in Gaza have likely offered China unexpected help in its rivalry against the US.

US repositioning defense equipment