Trump to address UN general assembly in New York as Israeli attacks on Gaza City continue
The US president, Donald Trump, is expected to address the UN general assembly in New York at about 09:50 local time (14:50 BST), where world leaders have gathered for the 80th anniversary of the UN.
Trump is expected to deliver an aggressive speech decrying “globalist institutions”, which he will claim “have significantly decayed the world order”, a White House spokesperson said in a briefing.
After his speech, Trump will hold one-on-one meetings with UN secretary general António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the EU.
The US president will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
During this meeting, Trump is expected to discuss a range of topics, including principles around what postwar governance in Gaza could look like, without Hamas involvement.
According to Axios, Washington wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal from the territory and to help fund reconstruction for the devastated Strip to be rebuilt after the war has ended.
Any hope of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was shattered when Israel carried out an airstrike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar at the start of the month, which caused a huge diplomatic fallout and made the prospect of an end to the war seem even more distant than before.
The diplomatic scramble playing out in New York today comes as Israel continues its assault on Gaza City, the biggest urban centre in the territory that Israel claims to be the last bastion of Hamas.
There are reports that Israeli tanks have advanced into the city centre from the north and south as deadly Israeli air attacks intensify and ground forces advance.
Despite international opposition, Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City last week as the military expanded its assault on the city after weeks of intense bombardments.
A famine – caused by Israeli restrictions on aid – was declared in the city and its surrounding area last month.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled southwards after being ordered by the IDF to do so, but hundreds of thousands, many of whom are too frail to move, remain despite the risks as there is effectively nowhere safe to move to in the Strip.
Key events
Trump views Palestinian statehood recognition as a ‘reward’ to Hamas, White House spokesperson says
Donald Trump’s address to the UN general assembly later today comes after key western allies, including the UK, France, Canada, Australia and Portugal, all defied Washington to recognise a Palestinian state.
On Monday night Monaco, Belgium, Andorra, Malta and Luxembourg all recognised Palestine, bringing the total number of recognitions to three-quarters of UN membership.
Israel has warned that it might respond to the recognition of Palestine by annexing the West Bank, with the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying recognition gives “a huge reward to terrorism”, adding, without elaboration, that a Palestinian state simply “will not happen”.
The Israeli far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister, went further, calling for wholesale annexation of the occupied West Bank in response to the declarations.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has been quoted as saying that Trump views the Palestinian statehood recognition moves as a “reward to Hamas”, the Palestinian militant group which the led the attack on southern Israel in October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
A reported 48 hostages remain in Gaza, being held by Hamas. 20 are thought to still be alive.
“He (Trump) feels this does not do anything to release the hostages, which is the primary goal right now in Gaza, does nothing to end this conflict and bring this war to a close,” Leavitt told reporters.
“Frankly he believes it’s a reward to Hamas. So he believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies.”
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has warned, meanwhile, that Hamas would “feel more emboldened” by the international drive to recognise Palestine and could provoke Israel into annexing the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war.
Trump to address UN general assembly in New York as Israeli attacks on Gaza City continue
The US president, Donald Trump, is expected to address the UN general assembly in New York at about 09:50 local time (14:50 BST), where world leaders have gathered for the 80th anniversary of the UN.
Trump is expected to deliver an aggressive speech decrying “globalist institutions”, which he will claim “have significantly decayed the world order”, a White House spokesperson said in a briefing.
After his speech, Trump will hold one-on-one meetings with UN secretary general António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the EU.
The US president will also hold a group meeting with officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
During this meeting, Trump is expected to discuss a range of topics, including principles around what postwar governance in Gaza could look like, without Hamas involvement.
According to Axios, Washington wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal from the territory and to help fund reconstruction for the devastated Strip to be rebuilt after the war has ended.
Any hope of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was shattered when Israel carried out an airstrike on a Hamas negotiating team in Qatar at the start of the month, which caused a huge diplomatic fallout and made the prospect of an end to the war seem even more distant than before.
The diplomatic scramble playing out in New York today comes as Israel continues its assault on Gaza City, the biggest urban centre in the territory that Israel claims to be the last bastion of Hamas.
There are reports that Israeli tanks have advanced into the city centre from the north and south as deadly Israeli air attacks intensify and ground forces advance.
Despite international opposition, Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City last week as the military expanded its assault on the city after weeks of intense bombardments.
A famine – caused by Israeli restrictions on aid – was declared in the city and its surrounding area last month.
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled southwards after being ordered by the IDF to do so, but hundreds of thousands, many of whom are too frail to move, remain despite the risks as there is effectively nowhere safe to move to in the Strip.