Image source, Getty Images

As we await today's UN discussion on a "two-state solution", Hamas has published a video purporting to show one of the remaining Israeli hostages.

In a widely-circulated video, 24-year-old Alon Ohel, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023, wears black while speaking to a camera. Ohel was last seen in a video released by Hamas earlier this month.

Ohel is one of 48 hostages still being held by Hamas. Twenty are thought to be alive.

Reacting to the video of their son, Alon's parents Idit and Kobi say they are "shaken and in pain" following its release.

They ask that the video is not shared, and demand Alon is provided with treatment as part of any negotiations, saying he "appears thin and distressed".

Peter Gillibrand
BBC Newsbeat

We've been speaking to young people to get their reactions to the government recognising a Palestinian state.

"It feels like we're finally being seen but action is urgently needed – not words," says Ghada Ashour, a student from Khan Younis in Gaza.

Ghada recently arrived in Dublin, which she says is a "different world" after losing a number of her family members back home.

"The UK's recognition means a lot," she says. "It gives hope. But hope is not enough. We need real action now."

Pro-Israel campaigner Toby Winocour, 24, from Glasgow, says he understands people will be happy with the government's decision, but he believes it's just "performative" and will fuel antisemitism.

"The reality is the decision will have no material effect on the ground and the conflict itself, but it will have a material effect on the Jewish community.

"I don't believe a Hamas official will be sitting listening to Starmer's decision because they'll continue to do what they do regardless of the British stance."

Max Hammer, 24, from Na'amod, an organisation of British Jews who want "freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis", welcomes the decision.

He says it's an "important step towards peace" and one he believes will bring communities closer together.

"It's come many, many years too late and it certainly isn't enough," he says.

"We need to see actual steps by the British government to place pressure on Israel."

The UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal officially recognised a Palestinian state on Sunday.

At the UN conference co-hosted by French President Macron and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later today, more countries are expected to formally recognise Palestinian statehood.

On Friday, an adviser to President Macron said these countries would be:

• France
• Belgium
• Luxembourg
• Andorra
• San Marino
• Malta

More than three quarters of the UN's 193 members already recognise a Palestinian state. Those who don't include the US, Israel, Italy and Germany.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, EPA

Roads, railway lines and ports were blocked in dozens of towns and cities across Italy on Monday as several unions called out workers in protest against Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Clashes broke out in and around Milan's central station, after protesters chanted "Free Palestine", called for a ceasefire in Gaza and burned a US flag. Milan's M4 metro line was shut and a fringe group of protesters set off smoke bombs and hurled street signs and street barriers at police.

Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters in Bologna and at least 20,000 people rallied outside Rome's main Termini rail station, with marchers occupying a key ring road in the east of the capital.

Students blocked a campus at Turin university, and thousands of people joined a march in Florence targeting arms-maker Leonardo.

Image source, MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP

With France on the verge of recognising a Palestinian state, Italy's right-wing government has come under fire from the left for staying silent and not fully explaining Rome's position. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said during the summer that it would be "counter-productive" to recognise a state that does not exist.

Meloni has described the scenes in Milan as shameful: "Violence and destruction that have nothing to do with solidarity and will not changes the lives of people in Gaza one little bit."

Israel faces fateful choice after wave of Palestinian recognitionpublished at 16:11 BST 22 September

16:11 BST 22 September

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent

This week's moves to recognise a Palestinian state have the potential to trigger a series of unpredictable consequences.

Israel has already warned that it will retaliate. Benjamin Netanyahu says his government's response will come after he returns to Israel, following a visit to the UN and Washington later this week.

It's thought he could announce the symbolic annexation of parts, or all, of the occupied West Bank.

One symbolic act to answer another.

But he knows that this could, in turn, persuade the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – countries that joined the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020 – to reassess their relations with Israel.

The UAE has already said that annexation is a "red line". Only when Netanyahu heeded a similar warning five years ago did the UAE agree to normalise relations with Israel.

For its part, Saudi Arabia – which had been poised to join the Abraham Accords before the Gaza war began two years ago – has repeatedly made it clear it will not join unless the Palestinians are offered some kind of meaningful political horizon.

Media reports in Israel suggest that Saudi Arabia has warned of "major implications in all fields" if Israel annexes any part of the West Bank.

The Abraham Accords represented a major foreign policy achievement during Donald Trump's first term in office. The president regards them as a key component in his case for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Anything that derails them at this stage would be damaging for Trump’s sense of his own prestige abroad.

Netanyahu has a choice: bow to pressure from his own hardline colleagues to continue Israel’s conquest of Palestinian territory, or continue developing relations with its Arab neighbours by offering the Palestinians a glimmer of hope for the future.

It’s a fateful choice.

Security talks are under way in New York, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper taking the floor to speak about the incursion of Russian jets into Estonian airspace.

Discussions on the Middle East aren't due to take place until later this evening – here is what has been happening in the meantime.

• The UK, Canada, Australia and Portugal have all formally recognised a Palestinian state, with France expected to do so later today
• Cooper has urged Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation for the diplomatic moves

• Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has said recognising a Palestinian state amounts to a "huge reward to terrorism" and that he'll make his response known at the end of the week - our Middle East digital editor Raffi Berg analyses what that could mean
• Meanwhile in Gaza, 61 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which pushes the death toll in Gaza to 65,344
• This wave of recognition may be largely symbolic for now, but it could have an impact on the way the Gaza conflict is framed, our Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher says

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

Image source, Reuters

Here at the United Nations, we're awaiting a conference on a "two-state solution", where several western states - including France - are expected to recognise a Palestinian state later today.

And away from the Middle East, this high-level week will also be packed with UN Security Council meetings on the actions of Russia - many at the ministerial level.

First on the schedule is an emergency meeting called by Estonia after it accused Russia of violating its airspace, something Moscow denies.

Their request was supported by other European council members: the UK, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia.

It's after the Security Council also met on 12 September to discuss the incursion of Russian drones into Polish airspace, leading to accusations Russia violated a Nato member state's territorial integrity.

Estonia’s foreign minister says that Russia violated its airspace four times this year, but this latest instance was a "dangerous escalation" because the Russian fighter jets came within minutes of its capital, Tallinn.

Russia says its jets were flying over international waters. This is just the latest spill over from the Ukraine war - as the council remains paralysed to act due to Russia’s veto power.

Image source, NurPhoto via Getty Images

Emmanuel Macron's special adviser on the Middle East says France's move to recognise a Palestinian state will unleash a "small diplomatic tsunami" and "create momentum" for other countries to follow suit.

Ofer Bronchtein, who previously advised former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin during the Oslo peace talks in the 1990s, argues the move is "essential to ensure Israel's security".

In an interview with European news website Euractiv, external, the Israeli-born Bronchtein says he has urged Macron to recognise a Palestinian state since becoming his adviser in 2020. Macron first indicated his government would do so in July, with a formal announcement expected later today at the UN.

He says he "managed to convince" Macron that Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel "would not have happened" if there had been a Palestinian state. He says he pointed to the differences between the Palestinian Authority - which governs parts of the West Bank not under full Israeli control - and Hamas in Gaza, which he says is "a terrorist organisation that drives the people of Gaza into the line of Israeli fire".

"It would have been preferable to recognise Palestine before 7 October. But better late than never," he says.

Raffi Berg
Middle East digital editor

The recognition of a Palestinian state on Sunday by the UK and other countries has led to discussion over how Israel will respond.

Israel has already reacted angrily to the moves – and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will make his response known after he returns from the US at the end of this week.

What form that will take could be hinted at when Netanyahu speaks at the UN General Assembly on Friday.

He has already said Israel will continue building Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank – illegal under international law and on land now formally recognised by more countries as part of the Palestinian state.

There is speculation that Israel might opt to annex parts of the West Bank – which would be a hugely controversial and dramatic move, throwing a direct challenge to the international community.

European officials, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the Palestinians have already warned Israel against it, seeing it as a death-knell to the vision of a two-state solution by illegally taking land now recognised by more than 75% of UN members as the Palestinian state.

Netanyahu’s most right-wing ministers want most of it, while Netanyahu himself has previously favoured annexing a part known as the Jordan Valley.

The US – Israel’s most powerful ally – might consider it too damaging to its hopes for more Arab normalisation with Israel to condone it.

With Israel already under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza, Netanyahu may try to find a way to respond which will both pacify his coalition and avoid risking further international backlash.

Image source, EPA

Speaking yesterday, the Israeli prime minister said recognising a Palestinian state amounted to a "huge reward to terrorism".

In a video posted on social media before Portugal joined the UK, Canada and Australia in making the move, Benjamin Netanyahu said a Palestinian state "will not happen".

"A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River," he stated, adding that they have doubled Jewish settlements in the West Bank and "will continue on this path".

Netanyahu also said he will respond to what he called the "latest attempt to impose a terrorist state" on Israel following Monday's meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Sebastian Usher
Middle East analyst

More countries are due to join the UK, Canada and Australia in recognising Palestinian statehood at the UN general assembly later today.

This recognition may be largely symbolic for now, but changing the official designation of the occupied West Bank and Gaza to Palestine, as the UK has already done, external, may have an impact on the way the conflict is framed.

It may bring more of a sense of parity in legitimacy between the two sides, which the Israeli government has long rejected.

The Israeli government has not only condemned the move, but also warned that it may increase settlements in the West Bank, which have long been seen as one of the main obstacles to achieving a peaceful resolution.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to address the meeting hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on the two-state solution in New York - but it will be by video because the US denied him a visa.

Paul McLaren
BBC Scotland

Scotland's first minister has described the UK government’s recognition of a Palestinian state as “a landmark moment”.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Palestinian Mission in London, John Swinney says there must be "follow-up action" including an end to the UK-Israel free trade agreement.

"There also has got to be an end to arms sales to Israel, a flow of humanitarian aid into Palestine and the release of hostages," Swinney adds.

"There must be international solidarity with Palestine in supporting the people to be protected from this genocide and the establishment of a life of safety and security."

A UN-commissioned report released last week accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, but Israel denies the accusation.

Image source, Getty Images

The Palestinian flag is being flown at town halls across France ahead of the French government's expected recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later today.

Nantes mayor Johanna Rolland writes on social media that her town is supporting the "historic decision of the French Republic by raising the Palestinian flag for the day".

The French interior ministry urged town halls not to display the flag, pointing to "the principle of neutrality in public services" - but several towns in France have ignored the warnings.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

In the last 24 hours, 61 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

This pushes the death toll since October 2023 to 65,344, the ministry says in a statement published on its Telegram account.

International news outlets rely on local reporters within Gaza, as Israel does not allow foreign media, including BBC News, to send journalists into the territory.

Tom Bennett
Reporting from Ramallah

I’ve been speaking to Sabri Saidam, a senior member of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) main faction, Fatah.

Speaking over the phone last night, he said it was "definitely a historic day" and described recognition as "a vote of confidence in the Palestinian people".

But there are fears among many here in the occupied West Bank about how Israel could respond to the recognition moves, with ultranationalist ministers in the Israeli government repeating calls for annexation of the West Bank and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to continue pressing ahead with settlement expansion.

"Israel always claims to be making peace while etching away through Palestinian territory and confiscating land," says Saidam. "The war in Gaza has for the last two years claimed thousands of lives, killing, maiming and displacing people."

"There has to be a way to revisit the doctrine of Netanyahu and his government," he says.

Does he truly believe a Palestinian state can come into being?

“If I did not believe that, we would not have put so much energy into the recognition,” he says. “We dwell on hope."

The Palestinian Mission to the UK has been holding a ceremony to mark the UK's recognition of Palestinian statehood.

There was applause as Husam Zomlot, the head of the mission, held up a sign branding the Palestinian London base an embassy.

The UK's recognition of a Palestinian state will allow the overseas diplomatic premises to be upgraded to embassy status. The British government hasn't set out a timeline for changing the status of the UK's Consulate General in East Jerusalem.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and independent MP Jeremy Corbyn were among those in attendance at the ceremony in west London.

If you're just joining us, world leaders are preparing to meet in New York at the headquarters of the United Nations. Here's what has been happening in the run-up to this evening's talks.

• Several countries - including the UK, Canada, Portugal and Australia - have officially recognised Palestinian statehood in recent days, and others are expected to follow, with France among them
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said "there will be no Palestinian state" and has condemned the move as beneficial to Hamas
• Recognition is also opposed by the the US, while Germany says it will not follow European allies at this time
• UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has urged Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation for the British government's decision to formally recognise a Palestinian state
• The UN's General Assembly will debate the prospect of a two-state solution this evening, a decades-old proposal which would see a Palestinian state exist alongside Israel

• Our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet has been analysing why this is an important symbolic moment for Palestinians

As reported by our Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell, the coastal road leaving Gaza City has been busy with people trying to escape.

Israel last week launched a ground offensive in Gaza City, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee, with the Israeli military saying it has destroyed buildings being used by Hamas.

• As a reminder: Israel does not allow international journalists into Gaza, but Palestinian reporters contracted by news agencies regularly capture what's happening on the ground.

Image source, Dawoud Abu Alkas via Reuters

Image source, Dawoud Abu Alkas via Reuters

Image source, Dawoud Abu Alkas via Reuters

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

The latest diplomatic moves to recognise a Palestinian state have done nothing to curb Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Local hospitals say at least 20 people have been killed today, most in Gaza City.

More housing blocks have been blown up and more Israeli forces have arrived in the city as they push to occupy it fully. Israel’s military says it is destroying buildings that were being used by Hamas, and that it has killed 15 “terrorists” in the past day.

But locals say entire neighbourhoods are being razed and whole families killed with many bodies trapped in the rubble.

The Israeli military says it has struck the site used by Hamas to launch two rockets at southern Israel yesterday. It said one missile was intercepted by air defences while the other struck an open area.

The Israeli assault has already forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee southwards from Gaza City, and today the coastal road remains packed with people leaving.

The two-state solution is an internationally backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

It proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It would exist alongside Israel.

Israel rejects a two-state solution. It says any final settlement must be the result of negotiations with the Palestinians, and statehood should not be a precondition.

The Palestinian Authority - set up in the wake of peace agreements in the 1990s - backs a two-state solution but Hamas does not because it is opposed to the existence of Israel.

Hamas says that it could accept an interim Palestinian state based on 1967 de facto borders, without officially recognising Israel, if refugees were given the right to return.

Earlier efforts to settle the conflict saw Israel and Palestinian leaders sign a deal called the Oslo Peace Accords, in 1993. This was intended to provide a framework for peace talks. However, talks eventually collapsed with each side blaming the other.