Israel kills more than 80 Palestinians as strikes devastate territory

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 Ukraine and Syria formally restored diplomatic relations on Wednesday as their leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Ukraine broke off relations with Syria in 2022 after ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's government recognised swathes of Russian-occupied Ukraine as "independent" Russian-backed areas.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the recent recognition of the State of Palestine by several Western countries "does not obligate Israel in any way".

"The shameful capitulation of some leaders to Palestinian terror does not obligate Israel in any way. There will be no Palestinian state", Netanyahu's office said in a statement, after six European countries, including France and Belgium, announced on Monday their formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

This comes as international criticism is mounting against Israel for its bombardment of Gaza, which has decimated the enclave and plunged it into a deep humanitarian crisis. 

Qatar and Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday a joint initiative with the United Nations Development Programme to provide $89 million in support to Syria to help sustain essential public services, a joint statement said.

The three-month package, funded by the Qatar Fund for Development and the Saudi Fund for Development, aims to ensure the continuity of essential public services by helping cover part of the salaries of government employees, the statement added.

In May, Saudi Arabia said it would provide, along with Qatar, financial support to state employees in Syria.

That followed an April contribution by both Gulf states to settle about $15 million in Syria's outstanding arrears to the World Bank.

Syria's new leader warned on Wednesday in a UN address that Israeli raids on his country risked new conflict, and promised accountability following years of turmoil in the country. 

"I guarantee to bring to justice and hold everyone accountable who was responsible for the bloodshed," Ahmed al-Sharaa said in the first address by a Syrian president to the UN General Assembly in decades.

"In this context, Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue, contradicting the international support for Syria and threatening new crises," he said.

Israel's Prime Minister office said on Wednesday that negotiations were being held with Syria and the conclusions were contingent upon ensuring Israel's interests, which include, the demilitarisation of southwestern Syria and safeguarding the well-being and security of the Druze in Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that there has been progress on a security deal with Syria, but an agreement was not imminent.

The United States is "hopeful ... even confident that in the coming days we'll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough" on Israel's war on Gaza, said U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday.

He said President Donald Trump's "21-point peace plan" had been presented to some leaders on Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Wednesday slammed impunity in the face of the "horror" unfolding in Gaza, calling on those with power to stop the "21st-century atrocity."

In recent weeks, Israel has launched a major air and ground offensive on Gaza City, exacerbating already dire humanitarian conditions there created by the army's bombardment and obstruction of aid.

"So we gather once again to share our testimony and our shame, to try to find words to convey the horror... to repeat that something must be done and, I fear, to accept that nothing will," Fletcher said at an event organized by Jordan and Belgium on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed his support for Palestinians in war-battered Gaza in his first address to the UN since the ouster of Assad.

In the brief speech, he said: "Let me affirm the suffering Syria endured, we wish upon no one...we are among the peoples most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction".

He added: "...We stand firmly with the people of Gaza, its children and women, and all peoples facing violations and aggression. We call for an immediate end to the war".

The number of casualties from a Yemeni a drone attack targeting the Israeli resort of town of Eilat has risen to 22, according to Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service.

Two men are reportedly in serious condition.

Police conducted a large-scale security operation outside the stadium on Wednesday ahead of Israeli team' Maccabi Tel Aviv's game against Greek club POAK in the Europa League.

Two small protests took place earlier in Thessaloniki in northern Greece, calling for Israeli clubs to be expelled from European competition in response to mass casualties in the war in Gaza.

Around 120 Israeli fans traveled to Greece for the match and were held behind a police cordon before entering the 28,000-seat Toumba Stadium. Officers from a special forces unit escorted the Maccabi team bus to the venue, while bomb squad sniffer dogs inspected the site.

Earlier, protesters climbed scaffolding on a building complex that also houses the U.S. consulate and unfurled a banner reading 'genocide' in English from the side of the building.

Israel's military said a drone launched from Yemen struck the southern town of Eilat on Wednesday, with rescuers reporting five wounded including two in serious condition.

A military statement said the drone "fell in the area of Eilat" on the Red Sea coast after air defences had failed to intercept it. The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said its teams had treated five casualties with shrapnel injuries.

Footage shared on social media, which AFP could not independently verify, showed the drone flying above the resort town before crashing.

US President Donald Trump promised Arab leaders he would not let Israel annex the occupied West Bank, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing six people familiar with the matter.

Two people described Trump as being firm on the topic during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Politico reported.

Two others familiar with the matter, Politico reported, said the U.S. team presented a white paper outlining the Trump administration’s plan to end the Gaza war, including the promise against West Bank annexation.

Israel has drawn global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, which has caused major destruction and where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities. A global hunger monitor says part of the territory is suffering from famine. 

A new survey released on Tuesday showed that 62 percent of German voters believe Israeli actions in Gaza constitute genocide, in contradiction with Chancellor Christoph Merz's stance towards Israel.

The representative poll conducted by YouGov showed that the sentiment crosses political lines, with 60 percent of voters from Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc viewing Israel’s military campaign as genocide against Palestinians. Among voters of coalition partner Social Democratic Party (SPD), the figure was even higher at 71 percent.

 Iran's president says US, Israeli attacks inflicted a 'grievous blow' on international trust and peace prospects.

Danish fund manager AkademikerPension is excluding Israeli state assets, including government-controlled companies, from its investment portfolio, it said on Wednesday, due to the war in Gaza and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

It is the latest decision by a European fund manager to curtail investments in Israel, following recent divestments by Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund.

The 157 billion Danish crowns ($24.77 billion) AkademikerPension, which manages the pensions of Danish teachers and university lecturers, said the conflict was not in accordance with international humanitarian principles.

"This comes as an assessment of the state of Israel's ability to uphold human rights," CEO Jens Munch Holst told Reuters.

The United Nations called Wednesday for an investigation into alleged drone "attacks" against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, saying anyone responsible for the "violations" should be held accountable.

"There must be an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the reported attacks and harassment by drones and other objects" on the Global Sumud Flotilla, which said a dozen explosions were heard around its ships late Tuesday, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.

Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian mayor and municipal council member on Wednesday, south of Nablus, according to local media.

A group of settlers attacked Beita Mayor Mahmoud Barham and municipal member Jamil Dweikat while they were inspecting projects on mount Qamas, located east of the town, according to the Wafa agency, citing local sources.

The settlers attacked the two officials after destroying their vehicle. The two were subsequently taken to hospital for medical treatment.

The UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon said an Israeli drone crashed inside its headquarters in the southern part of the country on Wednesday, but no one was hurt and the device was neutralised.

"It was determined that the drone was not armed but was equipped with a camera," UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said, adding the Israeli military later confirmed the drone belonged to the army.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on Wednesday strongly condemned an overnight attack on an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza.

In a statement, Crosetto also said he had redirected an Italian navy ship to head towards the flotilla to possibly offer assistance.

Iran's oil sales to China would continue even if UN sanctions, are reimposed under a so-called snapback mechanism, Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Wednesday, as Iran and European powers struggle to reach a deal to avert the sanctions.

The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany - the so-called E3 - along with the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas - held talks with their Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to try and find a solution.

On August 28, the E3 launched a 30-day process to reimpose UN sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. Sanctions will be triggered on September 27 if no deal is struck.

The Europeans are demanding that Iran restore access for U.N. nuclear inspectors to its most sensitive nuclear facilities, address concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engage in talks with the United States.

Asked about oil sales to China after potential snapback sanctions, Paknejad said: "They will continue, we have no problem."

The triggering of the snapback mechanism won't add "new burdensome restrictions" on Iran's oil sales, he added.

"In the last years, we have faced such severe restrictions from the unjust and unilateral U.S. sanctions that, in practice, [U.N. sanctions] won't add much to this situation," Paknejad said.

A coalition of 25 European countries and Canada have appealed to Israel to restore the route to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, so medical evacuations from Gaza can resume.

A joint statement said there’s "an urgent need to scale up medical treatment of patients from Gaza" as the humanitarian disaster continues to unfold.

The nations said they’re ready to provide "financial contributions, provision of medical staff or equipment needed" for treating tens of thousands of Gaza’s wounded in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel must immediately lift restrictions on medicine and medical equipment deliveries to Gaza, fully enable UN humanitarian work, and ensure medical personnel are protected in line with international law, it said.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned of a sharp rise in child amputations as Israel’s assault on Gaza intensifies, leaving thousands of young people with life-changing injuries.

Gaza already records the highest number of amputees per capita in the world, with around 4,000 people losing limbs in Israeli bombardments.

"These are children who have lost limbs, who wake up screaming from nightmares, who no longer feel safe even in their own families," said Ciaran Donnelly, the IRC’s senior vice president.

He cautioned that without safe access and basic supplies, children’s recovery is at risk of stalling completely.

The IRC also reported that one in three children in Gaza has gone a full day without food, while only 1 percent of households in the enclave are considered food secure.

Australian doctor Nada Abu Alrub, volunteering at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera the facility has become a "slaughterhouse" and a "graveyard".

She described "heartbreaking" scenes of families arriving in pieces after Israeli attacks: "You don’t know whose hand is this and whose leg is this – it’s like a horror movie."

Abu Alrub said children were being "shredded into pieces," adding that the bombing feels like Israel is "trying all types of weapons on these people".

Calling the situation "incomprehensible," she urged the international community to act immediately: "Every minute counts… whole families are being wiped out. No one is safe here, everyone is just waiting their turn."

The foreign ministers of the group of G7 countries, along with the European Union High Representative, stressed the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the need for humanitarian aid flow.

"We stressed the urgency of alleviating the immense suffering of civilians in Gaza through a flood of humanitarian aid and securing the release of all hostages, and we reiterated our call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas," the ministers said in a joint statement.

"We unequivocally condemned Hamas including for its brutal and unjustified terror attacks on October 7, 2023. We reiterated that Hamas can have no role in Gaza’s future and must never again be a threat to Israel," it added.

"We affirmed our readiness to engage with Arab partners on their proposals to chart a way forward on reconstruction in Gaza and build a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace."

Hamas on Tuesday dismissed remarks by Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly accusing the group of rejecting ceasefire proposals for Gaza.

In a statement on Telegram, the movement said it “has never been an obstacle to reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip," insisting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "the sole party obstructing all attempts to reach an agreement".

Hamas called on Washington to play a constructive role by pressuring Israel to halt the "genocide and forced displacement" of Palestinians.

In his speech to world leaders, Trump denounced recent international recognitions of Palestinian statehood, describing them as "a reward for Hamas".

Israeli forces on Wednesday killed a Palestinian man near the city of Jenin, during a raid in the vicinity of the city in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian media.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the killing of Ahmed Jihad Barahma, 24, by the Israeli army during a raid on the town of Anza.

This comes as Israeli troops carried out widespread raids in various areas of the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem at dawn on Wednesday. These raids included house searches and harassment of residents, many of whom have been arrested.

Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said on Wednesday that Israel’s assault on Gaza City is “disproportionate”, adding Berlin is weighing further action against Israel along with other EU partners.