UNITED NATIONS — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi tried to push his country's credentials as a global peacemaker at the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, calling for an end to fighting in the Middle East and touting Beijing's diplomatic efforts on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Wang spoke after Israel killed the leader of Iran-aligned Hezbollah with a massive airstrike in Beirut on Friday, raising fears of a wider regional war in addition to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza that began nearly a year ago.