Overview
- Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas delivered a remote UN address after a US visa denial, condemning Israel’s war as genocide, rejecting Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, and saying Hamas must hand over weapons as the PA assumes governance and security in Gaza.
- US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington shared a 21-point plan with Arab leaders and was hopeful of announcing a breakthrough on Gaza in the coming days.
- Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City with tanks, and local health officials reported new deadly airstrikes, while the IDF said it struck 170 targets across the enclave in the past 24 hours.
- Multiple Western governments, including Britain, France and Canada, formally recognised a Palestinian state during UN week, increasing diplomatic pressure on Israel.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will denounce those recognitions in his UN speech, insisted there will be no Palestinian state, and plans to meet President Trump in Washington on Monday.