Trump says Gaza ceasefire deal 'pretty close' as Israel kills 57

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Germany has not approved any new arms shipments to Israel since August, suggesting a more comprehensive ban than originally announced by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to Politico.

The German leader announced in August a ban on the sale of weapons that could be used in Gaza, indicating that shipments of arms for use in other areas would still go ahead. 

But in a response to a parliamentary enquiry, the economy ministry said that no new licenses were granted between 8 August and 12 September.

Germany was Israel's second-largest arms supplier behind the United States, approving exports worth around €251 million between early 2024 and mid-2025.

The European Broadcasting Union will hold an online vote in November on whether to expel Israeli broadcaster Kan from the 2026 Eurovision song contest.

"We can confirm that a letter has been sent from the executive board of the European Broadcasting Union to directors general of all our members informing them that a vote on participation in the Eurovision song contest 2026 will take place at an extraordinary meeting of the EBU’s general assembly to be held online in early November," the union said in a statement on Thursday.

Several broadcasters - including those from Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland - have threatened to boycott next year's contest if Israel is allowed to participate.

International doctors and nurses who treated Palestinians in Gazan hospitals described wounds more severe than civilians had suffered in other modern conflicts, according to a peer-reviewed study published Friday.

For the research in the leading medical journal BMJ, 78 humanitarian healthcare workers mostly from Europe and North America answered survey questions describing the severity, location and cause of the wounds they saw during their stints in the Gaza Strip.

Two-thirds of the healthcare workers had previously deployed to other conflict zones, the vast majority of whom said the injuries in Gaza were "the worst thing that they've ever seen", the study's lead author, British surgeon Omar El-Taji, told AFP.

Up to three months after they returned from Gaza, the doctors and nurses filled out a survey about the injuries they saw during deployments lasting from two to 12 weeks between August 2024 and February 2025.

They catalogued more than 23,700 trauma injuries and nearly 7,000 wounds caused by weapons - numbers which broadly echoed data from the World Health Organization, the study said.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected any future role for Hamas and condemned antisemitism, as he appealed for full global support for a state in the face of Israeli annexation threats.

Days after several Western powers led by France recognised a state of Palestine, the veteran 89-year-old leader was forced to address the UN General Assembly by video after the United States took the controversial step of denying him a visa to come to New York.

With far-right Israeli ministers calling for an annexation of the West Bank to kill prospects of a Palestinian state, Abbas made clear he was different from Hamas, which is based in Gaza and is the rival to his Fatah movement.

"Hamas will not have a role to play in governance. Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian National Authority," Abbas said in a speech that received loud applause by delegates watching the video.

"Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on 7 October - actions that targeted Israeli civilians and took them hostage - because these actions do not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence," Abbas said.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said that an attack on Thursday by Islamic State group militants in Syria's east killed five of its members.

IS jihadists, once in control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria, were territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but have maintained cells that have launched attacks mostly on Kurdish-controlled areas.

The SDF said in a statement five of its fighters were killed and another wounded when "an IS-affiliated terrorist network" targeted forces east of Deir Ezzor.

The SDF said its fighters thwarted a larger attack that the jihadists had attempted to carry out, adding that its forces were conducting operations to "pursue the terrorist elements and eliminate them in the area".

(AFP and TNA staff)

Arab and Muslim countries made clear to US president Donald Trump the dangers of Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Thursday.

"Some countries made very clear to the president the danger of annexation of any type in the West Bank and the risk that poses not just to the potential of peace in Gaza, but also to any sustainable peace at all. And I feel confident that President Trump understood the position of the Arab and Muslim countries," Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told reporters at the United Nations.

Arab and Muslim leaders met with the US president on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly earlier this week to discuss ending the war in Gaza.

Trump has since distanced himself from the Israeli far-right's ambitions of seizing Gaza and the West Bank, telling reporters on Thursday that he "will not allow" annexation to go ahead.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

Microsoft on Thursday said it cut an Israeli defense unit's access to some cloud services apparently being used as part of a mass surveillance operation in Gaza.

The move came after Microsoft spent more than two months investigating a report in The Guardian that the Israeli Defense Force was using cloud service Azure "for the storage of data files of phone calls obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank."

"We have found evidence that supports elements of The Guardian's reporting," Microsoft president Brad Smith said in a message to employees posted online.

"We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians."

US president Donald Trump said on Thursday he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from some far-right politicians in Israel who want to extend sovereignty over the area.

Trump addressed the topic after what he described as a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss resolving the Gaza conflict.

"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It's not going to happen," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Far-right members of Netanyahu's government have vowed to annex the West Bank in response to ten Western countries' recognition of a Palestinian state this week. This has prompted alarm among Arab leaders, some of whom met on Tuesday with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"I'm not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank. There's been enough. It's time to stop now," he said.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

US president Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believed a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza was "pretty close" after speaking to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We spoke with Bibi Netanyahu today, and we spoke to all the leaders in the Middle East who are great people, and we're getting pretty close to having a deal on Gaza and maybe even peace," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump earlier held talks with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the White House. 

The US president has vowed to Arab and Muslim leaders that he would not allow Israel to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in retaliation to the recognition of Palestine by 10 Western countries earlier this week.

Greece will guarantee the safe sailing of boats currently in its waters as part of an international flotilla heading to Gaza, its foreign minister said on Thursday, adding that Athens had informed Israel that Greek citizens were in the flotilla.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. Many lawyers and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, are on board.

Israel has accused the humanitarian activists of being '"terrorists" and is thought to have been behind a series of drone attacks on the flotilla.

"There are a small number of boats currently in the waters of Crete, and we will guarantee the safe sailing," Giorgos Gerapetritis told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"We have already informed the Israeli government about the participation of Greek citizens in this, and we will make sure that everything goes well."

(Reuters and TNA staff)

Israeli forces killed 57 Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, medical sources tell Al Jazeera Arabic. 

Almost half of those killed were in Gaza City, where Israeli warplanes and ground forces are mounting a brutal campaign to seize control of the urban area.

The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen on Thursday after air raid sirens sounded in several areas across the country.

The missile launch comes hours after the Israeli military carried out airstrikes in Sanaa which Houthi officials said killed at least eight people and wounded 140 others.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

The UN Palestinian relief agency has a vital role to play in Gaza's reconstruction even though it wasn't consulted on a nascent US peace plan for the territory, its head told AFP Thursday.

UNRWA, the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, supplied healthcare, welfare and education services in Gaza before Israel launched its devastating assaults on the territory in retaliation for Hamas's 7 October, 2023 attack.

"UNRWA is present in Gaza with 12,000 staff right now. On a daily basis, against all odds, our staff continue to provide primary health," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview on the sidelines of high-level UN meetings in New York.

Lazzarini said that while he had not seen the substance of the mooted US plan for Gaza, a 21-point blueprint for a ceasefire and reconstruction of the devastated strip, UNRWA was a "key asset for the international community."

A diplomatic source told AFP that the US plan for Gaza envisages a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages held there, an Israeli withdrawal as well as an influx of humanitarian aid.

Syria signed investment contracts worth $1.5 billion to support tourism in Syria, said the state news agency citing tourism minister Mazen al-Salhani on Thursday.

Al-Salhani said the total value of the investments, whether through direct contracts or memoranda of understanding, amounts to about $1.5 billion.

The projects include developing existing facilities, building hotels, resorts and entertainment cities, as well as rehabilitating historic areas.

Syria signed 12 investment deals worth $14 billion in August, including infrastructure, transportation and real estate projects aimed at reviving the war-damaged economy.

(Reuters)

An Israeli panel confirmed on Thursday the nomination of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right pick for the next head of the Shin Bet domestic security service, a government statement said.

Netanyahu named David Zini as his pick to lead the Shin Bet in May, after months of legal and political wrangling over his bid to dismiss the agency's former director Ronen Bar.

Israel's attorney general had said Zini's nomination was "illegal" after the supreme court found the move to sack Bar unlawful, but on Thursday a committee tasked with vetting senior positions confirmed Netanyahu's pick, according to a statement from the premier's office.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The death toll from Israeli airstrikes in Yemen's rebel-held capital on Thursday has risen to eight, while 140 others were wounded, the Houthis said.

Israeli forces struck several Houthi-linked targets in Sanaa, Israeli officials said, warning of more attacks to come. Houthi media said the targets included a detention facility.

The attack came a day after the rebels launched a drone attack on southern Israel.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Israeli authorities said Thursday the border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan will reopen on Friday morning to passenger traffic.

Israel closed the border last Friday after a truck driver bringing aid for Gaza opened fire and killed two Israeli soldiers.

The International Court of Justice said Thursday that it had ended a case at France's request over the detention of two French citizens held in Iran.

France had filed a petition against Tehran at the ICJ in May over the detention of Cecile Kohler, who celebrated her 41st birthday Thursday, and Jacques Paris, 72.

It said the pair were held under a policy that targeted French nationals travelling in Iran "by accusing them of various offences relating to Iranian national security".

Kohler and Paris were arrested in May 2022, accused of spying for Israel.

The Hague-based court said the France had requested "the discontinuance of the proceedings" and that this "was not opposed by Iran".

An Israeli rights group said Thursday a prominent Gaza doctor and hospital director held in an Israeli jail has faced harsh mistreatment and medical neglect, warning his health is deteriorating.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI) said Hossam Abu Safiya, head of Kamal Adwan Hospital until last year, was being kept in "harsh detention conditions" without legal proceedings.

Abu Safiya was detained after Israeli troops raided his hospital in December 2024.

The army later said he was suspected of "being a Hamas operative", but has informed him of no charges, according to the group.

PHRI said its lawyer visited him Thursday at Ofer prison, north of Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, reporting that he had lost around 25 kilograms (55 pounds) since his arrest due to insufficient food.

The Global Sumud Flotilla heading to Gaza protected by a Spanish military vessel poses no threat to anyone, including Israel, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Reuters on Thursday.

In an interview, Albares added that Spain had accepted Belgium's request to assist Belgian citizens on board the flotilla if needed, and was holding conversations with Ireland on the same subject.

"The mandate of the mission is very clear. We are having many incidents with this flotilla and this ship is there to provide assistance to the Spanish, now also to the Belgian citizens and we are talking with other European colleagues enquiring as to whether we can do the same thing," he said.

He added that the mandate of the aid flotilla was also clear: "We are talking about a peaceful humanitarian flotilla ... that is no threat to anyone, no threat for Israel."

Its single objective is "that humanitarian assistance can be accessed by the people of Gaza," he added.

"I don't see why anyone would object or want to harm them," Albares said.

(Reuters)

Houthi media said an Israeli strike Thursday targeted a detention facility, citing a security source, after the rebels said at least two people had been killed in the latest air raid.

"A source in the security and intelligence service: The Israeli aggression on Sanaa targeted one of the service's correctional facilities, which houses a number of prisoners and detainees," said the Houthis' al-Masirah television.

(AFP)

The Israeli military claimed on Thursday that it had displaced 700,000 Palestinians from Gaza City since late August, as it continues its brutal air and ground assault on the urban centre.

The UN's humanitarian agency on Thursday said it had recorded 388,400 displacement movements since mid-August, most of them from Gaza City.

The UN estimated at the end of August that around one million people lived in Gaza City and its surroundings, where it has declared a famine.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The Israeli military admitted that an explosive drone launched by Yemen’s Houthis and landed in Eilat on Wednesday was “detected relatively late,” with alarms sounding only afterwards.

It said interception attempts using the Iron Dome failed, but the cause had been identified and fixed.

According to Israeli Army Radio, Israeli jets dropped more than 65 munitions on Sanaa in retaliation — the largest single strike on Yemen to date.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he authorised the attack from his Wing of Zion aircraft while travelling to New York for the UN General Assembly.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would make a "major announcement" on Thursday concerning Syria but did not elaborate on what it would be.

"I took sanctions off in order to let them breathe, because those sanctions were very strong, but I think we should have a major announcement today," Trump said in response to a question on Syria from a reporter at the White House.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged at the United Nations on Thursday to work with U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations on a peace plan for Gaza overwhelmingly backed by the world body.

Abbas addressed the annual gathering of world leaders on Thursday via video after the United States said it would not give him a visa to travel to New York.

"Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7th - acts that targeted Israeli civilians and took them as hostages — because such actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor their just struggle for freedom and independence," Abbas said.

"We have affirmed — and will continue to affirm — that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and that we are ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there. Hamas will have no role in governance, and it - along with other factions - must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian National Authority," he said. "We reiterate that we do not want an armed state."

The points he raised are included in the declaration endorsed by the General Assembly.

"We declare our readiness to work with President Donald Trump, with Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations, and all partners to implement the peace plan" backed by the General Assembly, Abbas said.

The 193-member UN General Assembly earlier this month overwhelmingly endorsed a seven-page declaration that aims to advance a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants.

The declaration emerged from an international conference at the U.N. in July - hosted by Saudi Arabia and France - on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event and have rejected the international efforts.

Israel Premier Tech cycling team has been urged by its title sponsor to change its name in the face of pro-Palestinian protests.

Riders were targeted at the recent Spanish Vuelta, causing disruption to the Grand Tour event. Spain's government estimated that more than 100,000 people were on the streets in Madrid during the final stage when protestors criticized the presence of Israel Premier Tech.

In a statement reported by Radio Canada, Premier Tech said “the current situation regarding the team name is no longer sustainable to achieve our goal.”

Premier Tech is a multinational company based in Quebec, Canada. It is the title sponsor of the cycling team co-owned by Israeli Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams.

The Spanish Vuelta, which concluded this month, turned into a diplomatic battleground.

It was repeatedly disrupted by protesters against Israel Premier Tech, which midway through the race removed the team name from its uniforms after the team faced protests before and during the race days.

Protests persisted — culminating in the mass demonstration in Madrid, which meant the race had to be cut short by about 50 kilometers (30 miles).

Premier Tech's stance comes after a report that bike manufacturer and technical partner Factor also raised doubts about its association with the team.

"Without a name change, without a flag change, we won’t continue,” company founder Rob Gitelis told Cycling News.

Israel will reopen the sole crossing accessible to Palestinians between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan on Friday, the three sides said, after its closure following an attack that killed two Israelis.

The Palestinian borders authority announced in a statement the resumption of operations at the Allenby crossing "starting from tomorrow, Friday... in both directions".

The Israeli airports authority said the terminal would be open only for passenger traffic from Friday morning, "in accordance with the directive of the political echelon".

The Jordanian public security department said the crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, would be open from 8:00 am (0500 GMT) to 12:30 pm (0930 GMT).

The crossing in the Jordan Valley is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel, but is manned by Israeli forces, who have occupied the territory since 1967.

It had been largely closed since a Jordanian truck driver transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza shot dead an Israeli soldier and a reserve officer at the border last week.

On Tuesday, Palestinian and Jordanian authorities said Israel was indefinitely closing the crossing, which Palestinians feared was retaliation by Israel for France and other Western countries formally recognising a Palestinian state.

Yemen's Houthis said an Israeli air raid on Thursday killed at least two civilians and wounded dozens more in the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

The Israeli "brutality... resulted in a number of civilian casualties", said Houthi health ministry spokesman Anees Alasbahi, providing a preliminary toll of "two martyrs and 48 wounded".

Israel carried out air strikes on Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Thursday, according to Houthi media, with AFP news agency reporting the sound of explosions.

"Israeli aggression targets the capital Sanaa," said the rebels' Al-Masirah television channel.

The attack came just as the station announced that rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi's weekly televised speech was due to go on air.

The Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla says it has received “credible intelligence” warning that Israel may launch violent attacks on the convoy within 48 hours, potentially using weapons capable of sinking boats or causing deaths.

In a press release, the organisers said they will soon hold a news conference to update on the threats and outline their next steps.

The group renewed “urgent calls for governments and international bodies to intervene and ensure the flotilla’s safe passage as it seeks to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza.”

European soccer body UEFA is moving toward a vote to suspend its member federation Israel over the war in Gaza, people familiar with the proposal told news agency The Associated Press on Thursday.

A majority of UEFA’s 20-member executive committee is expected to support any vote in favor of suspending Israeli teams from international play, two sources told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

The move comes two weeks before the Israel men’s team is due to resume its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with away games against Norway and Italy.

It is unclear whether world soccer body FIFA will support excluding Israel given the close relations between FIFA’s leader, Gianni Infantino, and President Donald Trump. His administration’s support to secure the World Cup is seen as key to FIFA delivering a successful tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA’s ruling council is scheduled to meet in Zurich next week.

Slovenia on Thursday imposed a travel ban on Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that follows a ban against two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers in July, according to a government statement.

Slovenia, an EU member state which last year recognised a Palestinian state, imposed an arms embargo on Israel in August and introduced a ban on imports of goods produced in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military said Thursday that 700,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City to the south since late August, as it presses an air and ground assault on the urban centre.

When asked by AFP news agency, the military said that "700,000 Palestinians have evacuated" from Gaza City to the south of the Gaza Strip.

The UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, on Thursday said that 388,400 displacement movements had been recorded since mid-August, most of them from Gaza City.

The Italian delegation of the international flotilla that has come under drone attack while trying to deliver aid to Gaza said on Thursday it rejected a proposal by the Italian government that it should drop its cargo in Cyprus.

"Our mission stays true to its original goal of breaking (Israel's) illegal siege and delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged population of Gaza..," the Italian group on the Global Sumud Flotilla said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plane took an unusual route to New York on Thursday, skirting several European countries en route to the United Nations General Assembly.

Although France had authorised Israeli use of its airspace, according to a French diplomatic source who spoke to news agency AFP, flight-tracking data showed Netanyahu's aircraft instead took a southern path.

It crossed Greece and Italy, then veered south through the Strait of Gibraltar before heading across the Atlantic.

Britain, France and Portugal were among a string of countries to recognise a Palestinian state this week, a move Netanyahu bitterly opposes. Ireland and Spain announced their recognition in May.

Israeli media, meanwhile, reported that the detour by Netanyahu's plane was intended to avoid countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, which could enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in case of an emergency landing.

The ICC in November issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes committed during Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

Spain last week announced it would support the ICC investigation and had set up a team to probe alleged human rights violations in Gaza, as part of its broader push to pressure Israel to end the war.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Friday. He is also slated to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House next week.

A car explosion in Tel Aviv on Thursday has been identified as a criminal incident by Israeli police, leading to the closure of part of La Guardia Street to traffic but no further details were given.

Earlier, Israel's Channel 12 reported that the explosion resulted in injuries.

Israel's Channel 12 said on Thursday that a car exploded in Tel Aviv, resulting in injuries.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear and the channel did not provide further details.

At least 30 people have been killed in Israeli air raids on Gaza since dawn, Al Jazeera English reported, citing hospital sources

According to AJE, the latest strikes hit the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City.

Israeli police said on Thursday they had arrested a man for threatening to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Police said that just before the Jewish New Year holiday began on Monday evening, a man in his forties from the southern town of Kiryat Gat walked into the local police station saying he would kill Netanyahu.

"The suspect told officers that he planned to purchase a firearm and shoot the Prime Minister three times," police said.

The man was arrested and an indictment against him is expected to be filed on Thursday. Police are aiming to keep the man in custody until the end of the legal proceedings.

Polls show Netanyahu is losing public support over the nearly two-year Gaza war, which has led to fears of Israel becoming more isolated globally.

There are 48 hostages - 20 believed to still be alive - being held in Gaza, and their families have urged the Israeli government to make a deal that will bring them home.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office reported that Israeli forces detained a journalist during a raid in the town of Sa’ir, north of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank.

In a separate incident, troops re-arrested a recently released former prisoner during an incursion in Halhul, near Hebron.

Meanwhile, Wafa news agency said Israeli forces stormed homes in Salfit and detained the mayor of Bruqin, along with the local Fatah representative and his deputy.

All three were later released.

Another raid was carried out in the village of Marda in Salfit, where a young man was taken into custody.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced leaders who had recognised a Palestinian state, as he headed to the United States on Thursday for White House talks and an address to the UN General Assembly.

His remarks came three days after France led a special summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly, which saw a slew of Western governments recognise the State of Palestine against the backdrop of the nearly two-year Gaza war.

Netanyahu is due to address the assembly on Friday.

"At the General Assembly, I will speak our truth -- the truth of the citizens of Israel, the truth of the (Israeli) soldiers, the truth of our nation," Netanyahu said at Ben Gurion airport ahead of his departure, according to a statement from his office.

"I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, rapists and burners of children, want to give them a state in the heart of Israel. This will not happen."

On Wednesday, Netanyahu said the recent flurry of recognitions of Palestinian statehood, including by Britain and France, did "not obligate Israel in any way," calling it a "shameful capitulation of some leaders to Palestinian terror".

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will address the United Nations virtually on Thursday as the United States, despite its opposition to him, weighs whether to try to stop Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

The veteran 89-year-old Palestinian Authority president will address the UN General Assembly three days after France led a special summit in which a slew of Western nations recognized a state of Palestine.

US President Donald Trump's administration adamantly rejected statehood and, in a highly unusual step, barred Abbas and his senior aides from traveling to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders.

The General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to let Abbas address the world body with a video message.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow a Palestinian state and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank in a bid to kill any prospect of true independence.

The United Nations called Wednesday for an investigation into alleged drone attacks against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that forced Italy to send a frigate to help.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying scores of activists including Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, blamed Israel for more than a dozen explosions heard around the flotilla off Greece late on Tuesday.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said anyone responsible for the "violations" should be held accountable, and called for an "independent, impartial and thorough investigation".

The flotilla set sail from Barcelona this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid.

U.S. President Donald Trump has presented leaders from several Muslim-majority countries with a 21-point plan peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday, adding that he is confident of "some sort of breakthrough" in the coming days.

Trump on Tuesday met leaders and officials from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan to discuss the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas.

The meeting was held at the U.N. on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly.

"We had a very productive session. We presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Mideast and Gaza. I think it addresses Israeli concerns and, as well, the concerns of all the neighbors in the region," Witkoff told the Concordia summit in New York.

"We're hopeful, and I might say, even confident that in the coming days we'll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough," he said.

Trump is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday.

Italy has sent a second navy ship in support of the international aid flotilla that has come under drone attack while trying to deliver aid to Gaza, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try and break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. Many lawyers and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, are on board.

"We have sent one ship and another is on its way, ready for any eventuality," Crosetto said in a speech to the lower house of parliament.

Italy sent a first frigate on Wednesday, hours after the GSF said it was targeted by drones that dropped stun grenades and itching powder, in international waters 30 nautical miles (56 km) off the Greek island of Gavdos.

The GSF blamed Israel for the attack.

An Israeli air strike on a home where displaced people had taken refuge in central Gaza killed at least 11 people on Thursday, the territory's civil defence spokesperson told AFP news agency.

"Eleven people were killed and many are missing or wounded after an Israeli airstrike targeted a house... which was sheltering displaced people north of Az-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.

Several children were among those killed, the emergency services said, and their bodies were taken to a nearby hospital.