China said it was "deeply concerned" Monday by fresh attacks between Israel and Iran, expressing hope that a fragile truce in the Middle East war would be respected. "Resuming hostilities is not in any party's interest," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing, adding: "It is hoped all relevant parties will fulfil their commitment to a ceasefire." Israel and Iran traded fire early Monday in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war, while Yemen’s Houthi militants also fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea, further escalating tension. Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran early Monday in response to missile fire from Tehran and Iran retaliated with waves of attacks, in the most serious crossfire since an April ceasefire was reached. Explosions could be heard in central Israel as air defenses sought to intercept incoming Iranian fire. Tehran warned of retaliation on Sunday after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Monday marked the 100th day of the Iran war, launched Feb. 28 when Israel and the United States killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders. The war raged until the two sides reached a ceasefire on April 8, but efforts at a permanent end to the hostilities have been challenged by Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime, as well as fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group.
