In an escalating international dispute, Israel launched a series of diplomatic attacks against several of its Western allies as they prepare to recognize a Palestinian state next month.

International recognition will do as much to rebuke Hamas’s maximalist demands as it will those of the Israeli right, dealing a blow to expansionist aspirations in the West Bank, the only territory that has any realistic chance of becoming a Palestinian state.

A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long Gaza war.

Germany's foreign minister has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas after a meeting in Indonesia.

Lebanon said on Thursday it was launching the planned disarmament of Palestinian factions in refugee camps, part of a wider effort to establish a state monopoly on arms. The planned disarmament was starting with the handover of weapons on Thursday from the Burj al-Barajneh camp in Beirut to the Lebanese army,

The largely symbolic move has more to do with politics than supporting Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

France, Britain and Canada plan to recognize Palestinian statehood during the Gaza war, but Israeli experts warn the move could reward terrorism and complicate peace efforts.

Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted Sir Keir Starmer's "weak" and "shameful" plans to recognise the state of Palestine once again. In a furious podcast appearance on Wednesday, the Israeli Prime Minister laid into his British counterpart - and issued a dire warning over his response to Israel's military activity in Gaza to boot.