China is "deeply worried" about Israel's military operation against Iran that has escalated tensions in the Middle East, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday, in his first public comments on the conflict that erupted last Friday.

China warned the Iran-Israel conflict may spread wider instability in the Middle East, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaching out to both countries as their days-old conflict shows no end in sight.

China has begun evacuating its citizens from Iran and Israel as tensions grow in the region over the escalating bombardments in both nations. The Chinese foreign ministry called on its citizens to board chartered flights out of Iran and Israel on Tuesday following President Xi Jinping’s call for a cease-fire between the warring states.