China calls on the international community to make combined efforts to deescalate the conflict between Palestine and Israel, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a daily press briefing in Beijing on Monday. Over 2,000 people have been killed on both sides as of early October 9 as Israel intensified its air strikes in Gaza and imposed a "complete siege" on the Palestinian enclave following the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement's (Hamas) weekend surprise attack on Israel.