China and Russia Claim Moral High Ground Over Palestinian Deaths

DUBAI—The bloody war in Gaza is providing America’s main geopolitical rivals China and Russia with a valuable opportunity to garner support around the world, enabling the two repressive autocracies to harness a wave of sympathy for the Palestinians and to position themselves as champions of humanitarian values and peace.

While both Moscow and Beijing maintained close relations with Israel for decades—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even used billboards of himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin during last year’s election—the two powers have pointedly declined to criticize Hamas for the Oct. seven attack on southern Israel that triggered the war.