China not expected to start evacuating citizens from Israel unless fighting spreads to major cities

But Beijing so far has only said it will provide its “best assistance” to its nationals who want to leave Israel “if their safety is guaranteed”. It also expressed “deep concern” about the possibility of an extended conflict in its latest response on Friday.

Beijing is only likely to start evacuating its citizens if it sees “grave danger” for its nationals and if the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah joins the conflict and starts bombing northern and central Israel, according to Doron Ella, an assistant professor at the University of Haifa, who specialises in China’s foreign policy.

The US has reportedly warned the Lebanese group against escalating the conflict.

The Chinese population in Israel – mostly construction workers and engineers – are concentrated in major cities in the centre and the north, like Tel Aviv and Haifa, whereas the agricultural areas in the south of the country have fewer Chinese, Ella said.

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Thai worker recount frantic escape after Palestinian Hamas militant attack in Israel

Thai worker recount frantic escape after Palestinian Hamas militant attack in Israel

Despite recent announcements, “I don’t think this country or that country deciding to do an evacuation operation will impact the Chinese decision because I think China is more practical than that,” Ella added.

But some experts said the US and British evacuations may be a warning sign.

Yan Wei, deputy director at the Institute of Middle Eastern studies at Northwest University in Xian, said if the security situation in the biggest cities became “uncontrolled”, an evacuation announcement might be made, but there was always some risk from rocket attacks.

“Most of the early, large-scale penetrative attacks by Hamas targeted Jewish neighbourhoods near the Gaza strip, which are more peripheral, while attacks on major cities are rocket strikes,” he said.

“So it might not have reached a point where the authorities deemed mass evacuation was necessary.”

Alice Zhang, a Chinese national living in a city near Tel Aviv, said the attacks were the most intense that she has ever experienced in the country. She has lived in the country for 10 years and was married to an Israeli.

“I asked my husband whether we should leave for China days ago, but now, I gradually calmed down,” she said, adding that most of the attacks in her city have ceased.

The 36-year-old also said members of the Chinese community had questioned why the embassy had not provided any evacuation plans and complained that it had only issued “vague” statements.

Putin says civilian toll from Israeli ground attack in Gaza would be ‘unacceptable’

When asked about the situation of Chinese nationals in the region, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said they should remain “highly vigilant” and “strengthen security precautions and prepare for emergencies”.

Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said countries were making decisions based on their risk assessments.

The availability of commercial flights would be a factor for China, he said. Currently the only direct flight available is a twice weekly Hainan Airlines service between Tel Aviv and Shenzhen.

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Soldiers find ‘massacre’ in Israeli village as air strikes continue to pummel Gaza

Soldiers find ‘massacre’ in Israeli village as air strikes continue to pummel Gaza

“But if stories start to emerge of lots of Chinese trapped or complaining they might lay one on,” he said.

Any evacuation would be easier to organise than similar operations carried out in recent years in Afghanistan or Sudan, Yan said.

“While the territory of Israel is smaller, Chinese are concentrated in big cities. Neighbouring countries including Jordan and Egypt are also very friendly to China … so [the decision is more about] the level of threat to Chinese nations,” he said.

Additional reporting by Zhao Ziwen