\u201cI am proud to be attending an event to mark the recognition of the state of Palestine and will continue to do all that I can to support those suffering in Gaza and the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lebanon\u2019s president condemns Israeli drone strike<\/p>\n
President Aoun of Lebanon has condemned an Israeli drone strike that killed five people in the southern city of Bint Jbeil earlier on Sunday, describing it as a \u201cmassacre\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking from New York, where the UN General Assembly is taking place, Aoun accused Israel of \u201cpersisting in its violations of international resolutions, above all the ceasefire agreement of November 27, 2024\u201d. <\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThere can be no peace over the blood of our children.\u201d<\/p>\n
No Palestinian state, Netanyahu vows<\/p>\n
Netanyahu\u2019s message to world leaders<\/p>\n
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel\u2019s prime minister, said there would be no Palestinian state and vowed to expand Jewish settlement in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, I have prevented the creation of this terror state despite enormous pressure both domestically and internationally,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe have done so with determination and political wisdom. <\/p>\n
\u201cMoreover, we have doubled Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria and we will continue on this path,\u201d he said, using the Jewish biblical name for the West Bank in his statement.<\/p>\n
Targeting West Bank is terrible mistake, Macron says<\/p>\n
In further comments, President Macron also told US broadcasters that Israel\u2019s \u201ctotal war\u201d approach was a failure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the beginning of this war, you had more or less 25,000 Hamas fighters,\u201d Macron said. \u201cThe Israeli army killed probably half of them but Hamas managed to recruit the equivalent. You have as many fighters as at the very beginning, which is the best evidence of the fact [that] if we want to dismantle Hamas, the total war is not the answer, because it\u2019s just killing the credibility of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macron said his recognition was also partly triggered by Israel\u2019s renewed targeting of the West Bank.
\u201cThere is no Hamas in West Bank. They just want to destroy the existing political bodies and the possibility of two states and I really believe this is a terrible mistake for Israel itself, because in doing so, they just kill any other perspective than war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recognition a bad idea, hostage\u2019s family says![\"Emaciated](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/687569eb-7b51-4b05-81f0-3051fc051c4e.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Evyatar David in a Gaza tunnel, in a Hamas video released in August<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK, a group representing relatives of captives with British ties, said in a statement: \u201cInstead of confronting Hamas, Britain has emboldened it. Hamas has already celebrated the UK\u2019s move as a victory, while continuing to block ceasefire deals and humanitarian access.\u201d<\/p>\n
The families demanded \u201cconcrete action\u201d by ministers, including securing medical access for the hostages, applying maximum pressure to force Hamas to release them all, and guaranteeing they are not used as human shields amid intensifying fighting.<\/p>\n
Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a Hamas video last month, said: \u201cAny form of recognition from nations like the UK is a bad idea. The timing is wrong. We have to say, \u2018Until the hostages are home and Hamas de-weaponises we cannot recognise anything\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macron: Recognition of Palestine is necessary<\/p>\n
President Macron rejected American criticism that France\u2019s decision to recognise a Palestinian state would reward Hamas (David Charter writes from Washington).<\/p>\n
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, called the move \u201creckless\u201d and said that it \u201csets back peace\u201d, but Macron told CBS News it was necessary to combat Hamas.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecognising the Palestinian state today is the only way to provide a political solution to a situation which has to stop,\u201d Macron told Face the Nation. France will formalise its recognition at the UN this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe objective of Hamas is absolutely not to create a Palestinian state,\u201d Macron said. \u201cThe objective of Hamas is to destroy Israel, to convince the maximum number of people that they have no chance to have peace and stability, and precisely a Palestinian state, and to kill the maximum number of Israeli people. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why, if we want to stop this war, if we want to isolate Hamas<\/a>, the recognition process and the peace plan which goes with this recognition process is a precondition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Recognition cannot be purely symbolic\u2019<\/p>\n The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has said recognition of a Palestinian state was important but called for the government to go further.<\/p>\n In a statement, the centre, which describes itself as an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics, said, \u201cRecognition cannot merely be symbolic. It means nothing to recognise a state\u2019s existence while doing nothing tangible to prevent its eradication. <\/p>\n \u201cNot only does the UK fail to protect Palestine\u2019s sovereignty, but it is actively complicit in the genocide taking place in Gaza, through its continued supply of arms to Israel via the F-35 loophole.\u201d <\/p>\n The centre is referring to the supply of British-made spare parts for US-produced F-35 fighter jets. Although the government suspended about about 30 arms export licences to Israel last September, the UK supplies components to a global pool of F-35s which Israel can access. <\/p>\n Earlier this year, the High Court rejected a case brought by campaigners to stop this transfer, saying that it did not have the constitutional authority to intervene.<\/p>\n The centre added: \u201cRecognition must not be a valve to release pressure on the UK government complicity in the Gaza genocide. It must end its complicity and take concrete action to hold Israel to account.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer reaffirms UK commitment to Palestinian state<\/p>\n The prime minister has written to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, to inform him of the UK\u2019s decision and look forward to a \u201cconstructive relationship\u201d between the two states.<\/p>\n In his letter, Sir Keir Starmer said: \u201cI am conscious of the historical role that the United Kingdom has played in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1917, Britain supported the principle of a national home for the Jewish people, noting that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities.<\/p>\n \u201cIn making this decision today, I reaffirm the United Kingdom\u2019s commitment to a Palestinian state for the Palestinian people, and our enduring support for a two-state solution in which Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in peace and security.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United Kingdom looks forward to a new era of friendship and co-operation between the British and Palestinian peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n Palestinian state \u2018will not emerge overnight\u2019<\/p>\n The recognition has been described as \u201csymbolic\u201d. However, Palestine already has some degree of international recognition, with diplomatic missions abroad and sports teams, but it has no internationally agreed boundaries, capital or army.<\/p>\n The Palestinian Authority, set up in the wake of peace agreements in the 1990s, has limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, whose borders are controlled by Israel.<\/p>\n Earlier today, David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, acknowledged that a Palestinian state would not emerge overnight but helped keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive.<\/p>\n Recognition also allows the UK to enter treaties with Palestine and make the Palestine head of mission a fully recognised ambassador. It could also place greater pressure on the UK to boycott goods imported into the UK by Israel that come from the occupied territories.<\/p>\n \u2018Victory for the rights of Palestinians\u2019<\/p>\n A senior Hamas official hailed Britain, Canada and Australia\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state, describing it as a victory for the rights of Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cThese developments represent a victory for Palestinian rights and the justice of our cause, and send a clear message: no matter how far the occupation goes in its crimes, it will never be able to erase our national rights,\u201d Mahmoud Mardawi told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n Portugal expected to recognise Palestine<\/p>\n Among other countries expected imminently to follow the announcement by the UK, Canada and Australia is Portugal.<\/p>\n On Friday, Lisbon\u2019s foreign ministry, said it would formally recognise a Palestinian state this weekend.<\/p>\n Portugal was also among 145 countries which voted for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to address the UN General Assembly in New York this week by video, after the United States denied him a visa.<\/p>\n Map of countries that recognise Palestine<\/p>\n The UK followed Australia and Canada in recognising Palestine on Sunday afternoon. This brought the number of UN member states which recognise Palestine to 150, out of 193 in total.<\/p>\n Of the other G7 countries, France has announced its intention to follow suit, while the US, Germany, Italy and Japan have not.<\/p>\n With the support of both the UK and France, Palestine will be recognised by four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council after China and Russia made the move in 1988.<\/p>\n Numerous countries have recognised Palestine in the past couple of years, prompted by the ongoing war in Gaza. Previously recognition was largely limited to countries in Africa, South America and Asia which have historically been critical of Israel.<\/p>\n Recognition of Palestine is \u2018diplomatic disaster\u2019<\/p>\n Yair Lapid, the leader of Israel\u2019s opposition, said the UK, Australian and Canadian recognition of Palestine was a \u201cdiplomatic disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n Lapid, who was part of a coalition which briefly ousted Binyamin Netanyahu<\/a>, said that a functioning government could have prevented the move \u201cwith smart and serious work, professional diplomatic dialogue and proper explanation\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThe government that brought upon us the worst security disaster in our history is now also bringing us the most severe diplomatic crisis ever.<\/p>\n \u201cUnilateral recognition is a diplomatic disaster, a terrible step and a reward for terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n Still 48 hostages in the terror tunnels, family says<\/p>\n The British family of an Israeli hostage freed from Gaza said they were \u201cupset\u201d and \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the announcement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the timing of it. We asked that recognition didn\u2019t come while there are still 48 hostages in the terror tunnels,\u201d Eli Shabari\u2019s brother-in-law, Steve Brisley, from Bridgend in south Wales, told The Times. <\/p>\n \u201cWhy now? How will this free the hostages, stop the loss of innocent life on in Gaza<\/a> and reduce suffering all around? It\u2019s difficult to make any substantial link between today\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state and any of those things happening,\u201d<\/p>\n Shabari was freed in February, 16 months after his capture on October 7, 2023. On his release, he learnt that his British-Israeli wife, Lianne, and his two daughters, Noiya, 16 and Yahel, 13, had been shot and killed at their family home on Kibbutz Be\u2019eri. Eli\u2019s brother Yossi was also kidnapped and his body is still in Gaza.<\/p>\n \u2018Step towards correction of historic wrongs\u2019<\/p>\n The Palestinian head of mission to the UK welcomed the government\u2019s decision and extended his \u201cdeepest gratitude\u201d to members of parliament.<\/p>\n Husam Zomlot said, \u201cToday is not just about Palestine, but about Britain\u2019s fulfilment of a solemn responsibility. This long overdue recognition marks an end to Britain\u2019s denial of the Palestinian people\u2019s inalienable right to self-determination, freedom and independence in our homeland.<\/p>\n \u201cIt marks an irreversible step towards justice, peace, and the correction of historic wrongs, including Britain\u2019s colonial legacy, the Balfour Declaration<\/a>, and its role in the dispossession of the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the recognition must now be followed by action, including comprehensive sanctions, a full arms embargo and \u201caccountability for those responsible for war crimes\u201d.<\/p>\n Farage: This is a reward for Hamas terrorists<\/p>\n Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, disagreed with Starmer\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Writing on X, he said: \u201cThe prime minister is wrong to recognise a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a reward for the Hamas terrorists and will do nothing to bring about peace.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Reckless decision on recognition\u2019<\/p>\n Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, accused Starmer of \u201ccapitulating to the hard-left factions of his party\u201d and sending a \u201cdangerous message, where violence and extremism are tolerated and rewarded\u201d.<\/p>\n Patel added: \u201cHe lacks all moral authority as his insincere gesture on recognition is all about protecting his own position as leader of the Labour Party rather than securing peace and stability.<\/p>\n \u201cHis feeble last-minute attempts to appease the United States are shallow and will never justify his reckless decision on recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer in delusion, hostage\u2019s mother says Mandy and Emily Damari<\/p>\n REUTERS<\/p>\n Mandy Damari, whose British-Israeli daughter Emily was held hostage by Hamas for more than 15 months following the October 7 attacks, condemned the recognition.<\/p>\n \u201cKeir Starmer is under a two-state delusion,\u201d she told the BBC. \u201cWhile one of the states is still run by a proscribed terrorist organisation whose very charter is to annihilate Israel from the river to the sea, a two-state solution can never happen.<\/p>\n \u201cBut even if he thinks he is right, he is rewarding Hamas for the October 7 barbaric and savage attack on Israel when the hostages are still not back, the war is not over and Hamas are still in power in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n UK should recognise genocide in Gaza, Corbyn says<\/p>\n Earlier in the day Jeremy Corbyn, the MP for Islington North, said on X, \u201cWell done to all those who have tirelessly campaigned for the recognition of Palestine \u2014 an inalienable right of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n \u201cNext, the UK should recognise the genocide in Gaza, end its complicity in crimes against humanity and stop arming Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Gazans haven\u2019t been forgotten, Khan says Sir Sadiq Khan<\/p>\n TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL<\/p>\n Before Starmer\u2019s announcement, Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he fully supported the decision. \u201cIt sends a message to the Israeli government, who have been acting in an outrageous manner for the last few years \u2014 we want a two-state solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Khan added that the move would give other countries the confidence to follow suit, before he was asked about the importance of the symbolic move.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, let\u2019s not underestimate the importance of symbolism. I\u2019ve spoken to people who have family in Gaza, and they know what\u2019s happening around the world,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really important for them to understand they\u2019re not suffering in silence. They\u2019ve not been forgotten about.\u201d<\/p>\n Five killed by Israeli drone strike in Lebanon<\/p>\n Lebanon says that at least five people have been killed by an Israeli drone strike in the south of the country, including three children.<\/p>\n The state-run National News Agency reported that the strike on Sunday, near Bint Jbeil, had targeted a motorcycle. <\/p>\n Israel launches frequent strikes inside Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, despite a November ceasefire meant to end more than a year of hostilities.<\/p>\n Sir Ed Davey: Decision is great step forward<\/p>\n The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey praised the decision, which he announced at his party\u2019s conference in Bournemouth to sustained applause.<\/p>\n Davey said: \u201cRecognising the right of Palestinians to their self-determination has been long overdue. It is a great step forward and something that Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for for almost a decade. But this is not the end of the road.<\/p>\n \u201cThe humanitarian catastrophe across Gaza and the West Bank continues to devastate lives \u2014 both for the hostages held in Hamas captivity and Palestinians suffering across the occupied territories.\u201d<\/p>\n Moral responsibility to act, Starmer says<\/p>\n In recognising a Palestinian state, Sir Keir Starmer has attempted to manage an increasingly febrile Labour Party and keep Trump onside \u2014 but the backlash from the US and Israel is likely to be fierce.<\/p>\n The prime minister has said there was a \u201cmoral responsibility to act\u201d, but there is also politics at play.<\/p>\n For a prime minister who has seen his poll ratings collapse and is now the most unpopular political leader in Britain by some margin, the hope is that a clear and unambiguous message on Palestine will help quell the discontent in his own ranks.<\/p>\n Read in full <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n Recognition is \u2018necessary step\u2019 to peace, says Abbas<\/p>\n Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, said that Britain\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state was a necessary step toward lasting peace in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cHis Excellency praised the United Kingdom\u2019s recognition of the independent state of Palestine, affirming that it constitutes an important and necessary step toward achieving a just and lasting peace in accordance with international legitimacy,\u201d Abbas\u2019s office said in a statement.<\/p>\n Badenoch: Starmer is appeasing the hard left<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said recognition of a Palestinian state was an \u201cabsolutely disastrous\u201d move by the prime minister.<\/p>\n She wrote on X: \u201cWe will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.\u201d<\/p>\n Badenoch concluded by saying that Starmer \u201cwill spend the next four years delivering the hobby horses of the Labour left to stay in power\u201d.<\/p>\n Recognition \u2018has done nothing to advance a ceasefire\u2019<\/p>\n The Board of Deputies of British Jews, a body representing the Jewish community across the country, condemned the decision.<\/p>\n Its statement read: \u201cThere will be deep dismay at the prime minister\u2019s announcement across the Jewish community and among family members of hostages.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we feared and warned, the way the UK has chosen to recognise a Palestinian state has done nothing to advance a ceasefire, free the hostages, stop the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, or advance long-term peace.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may have set those goals back, by reducing pressure on Hamas and enabling them to claim recognition as the \u2018fruits\u2019 of its violence and intransigence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to press the government on how it will now use Britain\u2019s diplomatic leverage to bring about the release of the hostages, two of whom have British family; end Hamas\u2019 reign of terror; and meaningfully enhance conditions for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n Recognition of Palestinian state \u2018absurd\u2019<\/p>\n Netanyahu vows to fight global push for recognition of Palestinian state<\/p>\n Earlier today, a spokeswoman for Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said he viewed the recognition of a Palestinian state as \u201cabsurd\u201d.<\/p>\n Before Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s announcement, Shosh Bedrosian described the planned move as \u201ca manoeuvre that prime minister Netanyahu has called absurd and simply a reward for terrorism\u201d.<\/p>\n She said Hamas did not want a state alongside Israel, \u201cthey want a state instead of Israel\u201d. She added: \u201cThe people of Israel aren\u2019t going to commit suicide because of the political needs of European politics.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Fruit\u2019 of the October 7 massacre<\/p>\n The Israeli foreign ministry condemned the announcement, saying: \u201cRecognition is nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n In a post on X it said \u201cHamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the \u2018fruit\u2019 for the October 7 massacre.<\/p>\n It added: \u201cDon\u2019t let jihadist ideology dictate your policy.\u201d<\/p>\n Britain \u2018has no power to determine region\u2019s future\u2019 Bezalel Smotrich<\/p>\n MENAHEM KAHANA\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s finance finister Bezalel Smotrich, an ally of Itamar Ben-Gvir, backed the annexation of the West Bank, adding that Britain had no power to determine the future of the region.<\/p>\n \u201cThe days when Britain and other countries determined our future are over, the mandate is finished and the only response to this anti-Israeli move is sovereignty over the Jewish people\u2019s homeland territories in Judea and Samaria, and removing the foolish idea of a Palestinian state from the agenda forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Families of British hostages call for ceasefire<\/p>\n The families of British hostages said they had met ministers numerous times in recent weeks. They said they had \u201cdeep concerns\u201d that the timing could delay a ceasefire and be seen as rewarding Hamas, but had presented Starmer with a proposal for more sanctions on Hamas.<\/p>\n In a statement on their behalf, Adam Wagner KC said: \u201cThe UK must understand that there can be no peaceful future for either Palestinians or Israelis whilst Hamas, and our hostage relatives, remain in Gaza. If it is truly committed to a peaceful future in the region, the UK must now do everything it can to weaken Hamas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is essential now to work towards a ceasefire. The ongoing violence creates huge risks for the remaining hostages. A diplomatic solution, which the UK says it is working towards, is the most likely way to secure their safe release.\u201d<\/p>\n Call for \u2018sovereignty in Judea and Samaria\u2019<\/p>\n Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel\u2019s far-right national security minister, called for the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank after \u2014 and because of \u2014 Britain, Canada and Australia\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recognition by Britain, Canada, and Australia of a Palestinian state \u2026 requires immediate countermeasures: the swift application of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and the complete dismantling of the Palestinian Authority,\u201d Ben-Gvir said in a statement, using the Israeli name for the Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n \u201cI intend to submit a proposal for applying sovereignty at the upcoming cabinet meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamas \u2018would commit mass murder again and again\u2019<\/p>\n It\u2019s not often I see a story of Hamas celebrating, at least not since the delirious joy that greeted the attack on October 7 when operatives stormed over the border, raped and murdered (Matthew Syed writes). <\/p>\n One can\u2019t help thinking of the words of Umberto Eco\u2019s line in The Prague Cemetery: \u201cPeople are never so completely and enthusiastically evil as when they act out of religious conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n Afterwards, Hamas leaders helpfully came on to the airwaves to explain that they would commit mass murder again and again, if they had half a chance, not so they could kill some Jews, but all Jews, as proclaimed in their charter.<\/p>\n So why were they so happy a month ago after Starmer gave what was billed as a \u201csignificant speech\u201d from the lectern at Downing Street? Well, this was the moment that paved the way for the statement on Sunday for the UK to \u201crecognise\u201d a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n Read in full <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n Hamas \u2018can have no role in Palestine\u2019s future\u2019 Yvette Cooper<\/p>\n THOMAS KRYCH\/ANADOLU\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, said the \u201chistoric decision\u201d reflects the government\u2019s \u201cunwavering commitment to a two-state solution\u201d.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe are clear that Hamas can have no role in Palestine\u2019s future \u2014 they are a barbaric terrorist organisation who oppose the very idea of two states.<\/p>\n \u201cThey must release the hostages and relinquish any hold on Gaza. But Hamas are not the Palestinian people. Recognition is only one part of what must be a stronger and wider push for peace.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to end the conflict in Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and get humanitarian aid to all those who desperately need it.<\/p>\n \u201cThat requires not just an immediate ceasefire, but a plan for a durable peace, which will be a key to my diplomatic drive at the UN this week.\u201d<\/p>\n Let the aid surge in, Starmer says<\/p>\n Starmer accused Israel of \u201ccruel tactics\u201d as he issued his fiercest condemnation of the country\u2019s actions in Gaza yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThe man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Israeli government\u2019s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza<\/a>, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.<\/p>\n \u201cTens of thousands have been killed, including thousands as they tried to collect food and water \u2026 this death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer called on the Israeli government \u201cto lift the unacceptable restrictions at the border, stop these cruel tactics, and let the aid surge in\u201d.<\/p>\n Overnight strikes on Gaza City kill more than 30 Further strikes have been carried out on Gaza City<\/p>\n MOHAMMED SABER\/EPA<\/p>\n Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people in Gaza City overnight to Sunday, including children, officials from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said.<\/p>\n Officials at Al-Shifa hospital said the dead included 14 killed during a strike on a residential block in the south of the city. <\/p>\n Israel launched a new offensive on Gaza City five days ago, forcing thousands of civilians to flee to areas further south.<\/p>\n Two-state solution \u2018best hope for peace and security\u2019<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer said he was aware of the \u201cstrength of feeling\u201d that the conflict has created. He added: \u201cWe have seen it on our streets, in our schools, in conversations we\u2019ve had with friends and family.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has created division. Some have used it to stoke hatred and fear, but that solves nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Released](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/468fe0e2-da47-4ff8-b4c7-ee6023460929.jpg\")
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