Overview

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Parliament that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state at the UN in September if Israel does not secure a Gaza ceasefire, end annexation plans, commit to a long-term two-state peace process.
• Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela announced his government will join France and the UK in formally recognizing Palestine during the UN General Assembly session in September.
• Israel insists there is no famine in Gaza, even as President Trump cited images of severely malnourished children and pledged US funds for open-access food distribution centers in the enclave.
• Israeli media report that Netanyahu’s cabinet is preparing unilateral annexation proposals for parts of Gaza and the West Bank if Hamas refuses a truce offer.
• The US State Department criticized the planned recognition as a “publicity stunt” that rewards Hamas, and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese condemned the sidelining of UN-coordinated humanitarian aid in Gaza.