The killing of Iranian leaders and attacks on civilian targets are by no means acceptable, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday in response to a related query, Xinhua news agency reported.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily press briefing, adding China is always against the use of force in international relations.

The comments came after Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was killed in an Israeli attack.

Responding to the statement by the Israeli side that its troops have been authorized to attack and kill any Iranian official without the need of approval, Lin said China is shocked at such remarks.

Lin added that as the war rages on in the Middle East and the tense situation there continues to escalate and spill over, an early ceasefire and an end to hostilities are being widely called for by the international community.

China urges parties to the conflict to immediately stop military operations and avoid plunging the regional situation into a state where it is out of control, Lin said.

Earlier, China had offered emergency humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. China also announced that it would provide $200,000 to support the parents of around 170 students killed in the shelling of an elementary school in Iran. The girls’ school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit during the first day of U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country. Iranian authorities said the death toll stood at 168.