Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, AFP

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and part of the G7, France carries considerable weight diplomatically on the Middle East, far more than other EU countries that have already recognised a Palestinian state.

The EU's other major Western power, Germany, believes recognition should come only at the end of peace negotiations with Israel on a two-state solution.

Sweden, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia are so far the only EU member states to have made the move while being part of the EU, so President Macron's announcement is significant. Several other European states did so in the 1980s, including Poland and Hungary during the communist era.

Belgium, which has been one of Europe's most vehement critics of Israel during the war with Hamas, is weighing up the issue and will reportedly come to a decision in early September.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said in May that he personally didn't think it was a sensible step as it would mean recognising a state when "you can't tell what its borders are, who the authority is and therefore who to talk to as a partner".

Will Macron's declaration breathe life into two-state solution? He hopes sopublished at 10:55 British Summer Time 25 July

10:55 BST 25 July

Jeremy Bowen
International editor

Does President Macron’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September change much? He must believe that it will breathe some life into what have become slogans about a two state solution.

Israel has absolutely doubled down on its determination to never, ever accept a Palestinian state.

From Prime Minister Netanyahu the position is clear. He says a Palestinian state would be a launchpad to eliminate Israel.

Figures on the ultra-nationalist hard right, such as finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, are using the current moment to push for what he has called the “Zionist response to unilateral coercion".

For him that means extending Israeli sovereignty over the land Israel calls Judea and Samaria - and is better known internationally as the West Bank. The hard right in Israel wants to annex the occupied West Bank and absorb it into Israel.

Smotrich and those aligned with him would like to see Palestinians removed from the occupied territories altogether, envisioning a future in which the entire area is land for Jews under full Israeli sovereignty.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the PM Keir Starmer is facing sustained pressure from within his own party to follow France’s lead and recognise a Palestinian state.

No 10 not signalling any shift in position on Palestinian statepublished at 10:36 British Summer Time 25 July

10:36 BST 25 July

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

As ever, Keir Starmer is walking a potentially tricky trans-Atlantic diplomatic tightrope .

He’s got a call with Emmanuel Macron later, whose decision to say he will recognise a Palestinian state within months, has put pressure on the UK’s position.

Then President Trump flies in to Scotland, after his administration criticised the French move.

Despite growing calls from within Westminster for the UK to move towards recognition, Downing Street has not signalled it’s planning any shift in position.

In any case, it seems very unlikely any change would come before the planned meeting between the prime minister and the president.

What does recognising Palestinian statehood mean?published at 10:20 British Summer Time 25 July

10:20 BST 25 July

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

Recognition of Palestinian statehood is largely symbolic but profoundly political.

It’s meant to send a strong message – that the only way to achieve a sustainable peace in the Middle East is through the two-state solution, a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel.

When a major European power like France takes this step, it highlights the right of Palestinians to self-determination and, for some, boosts fading hope that their decades-old aspiration can one day succeed.

But the current Israeli government is categorical – Palestinian statehood is not on the cards.

France’s move, which follows Spain, Norway, and Ireland in May 2024, has hardened Israel’s opposition and amplified threats to annex the occupied West Bank – the land of a future Palestinian state.

That’s why Britain’s Prime Minister Starmer has previously said the UK would only do it when it would have the “greatest impact.”

But as Palestinian suffering deepens, and far-right Israeli ministers call for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, pressure mounts on Britain and other world powers to take a stand - before it’s too late.

Image source, Reuters

• Later on, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will join an "emergency call" with France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
• The UK is under growing pressure to recognise the state of Palestine, our chief international correspondent writes, after Macron pledged to do so in September
• The US and Israel have condemned the move, and separately withdrew their teams from ceasefire talks in Qatar after the US accused Hamas of "not acting in good faith"
• Meanwhile, humanitarian conditions in Gaza are deteriorating rapidly after more than 100 humanitarian organisations warned of mass starvation
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says its teams are "witnessing catastrophic levels of malnutrition" - reporting that one in four young children and pregnant woman it screened are malnourished
• Speaking to the BBC, an Israeli government spokesman insists "there is no restriction" on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza

Image source, Reuters

Humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says its teams are "witnessing catastrophic levels of malnutrition" among patients and staff in Gaza.

MSF calls attention to three key findings it says it has made on the ground:

• At MSF clinics, 25% of screened children and pregnant/breastfeeding women are malnourished, it says.
• Every day, there are 25 new cases of malnutrition among healthcare workers in Gaza City alone, it warns, as staff struggle to feed themselves
• More than 1,000 people have been killed and 7,200 injured at aid distribution points, it says

It comes after more than 100 humanitarian groups warned of mass starvation in Gaza. Israel says there is no siege on aid getting into Gaza.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Image source, Getty Images

The timing may have come as a surprise in France, late on Thursday and after all the big TV news programmes had finished, but President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that he would recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September was not entirely unexpected.

Macron said last April that he could do it at a summit on Palestinian statehood in June, but that was then postponed. Now that he has given a firm date in September, his decision has been met with predictable splits across political lines in French politics.

Parties on the left have broadly welcomed the move, with Ecologists leader Marine Tondelier saying it was a "major step" and better late than never, while radical left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called it a "moral victory".

For the Socialists, Olivier Faure said it had to be accompanied by sanctions and that Europe had to put pressure on Israel's "supremacist and messianic government".

Most political leaders from the centre and Republican right are in the government, so they have largely avoided comment, but the far-right have made their opposition very clear.

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen says recognising a Palestinian state today meant "recognising a Hamas state and therefore a terrorist state" - and it constituted a political and moral mistake.

Pressure mounting on UK to recognise Palestinian statehoodpublished at 08:52 British Summer Time 25 July

08:52 BST 25 July

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

It’s often said timing is everything.

France hinted for months it would recognise Palestinian statehood. It’s finally made its move in the midst of growing alarm over the desperate situation in Gaza, and deepening frustration among world powers that they aren’t able to stop it.

France hopes other world powers will follow its lead when it formally takes this step at the UN General Assembly in September. Of course, most countries recognised a Palestinian state long ago; in May 2024, Spain, Ireland and Norway did too.

But France is the first country of the G7 group of major industrialised nations to do so.

A “huge announcement” is how Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour put it in an interview with BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight programme.

A huge mistake is how Israel sees it, denouncing recognition as a “reward for terrorism.” For the US too, this timing is wrong and “reckless".

But pressure is now mounting on countries like the UK and Germany to also wield one of their few diplomatic weapons as the future of Palestinians in Gaza looks bleaker by the day.

Image source, Getty Images

Mencer is asked whose responsibility it is under international law to ensure people in Gaza are fed.

"We have a duty as human beings, as a Jewish state, to ensure there is not starvation in Gaza," he says, saying "we don't need to be responsible to international law, it is our duty as a country, as a Jewish state... to make sure there is not starvation in Gaza".

He says that is why they are "making it clear there is no restriction on the amount of aid that can enter", and insists the Israeli army has offered the UN "all the security it needs to deliver the aid".

"No-one wants to see Gazans suffering," he says, insisting again Israel is facilitating aid and blaming Hamas.

For context: The UN has said at least 1,054 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while seeking food since 27 May.

The chief of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, said yesterday the organisation has 6,000 trucks' worth of aid waiting in Egypt and Jordan to enter Gaza. He called on Israel to allow "unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza".

David Mencer is pressed on the Israel and US-backed aid system established by Israel - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

If Israel set up this new system, and is now saying that aid distribution is failing, doesn't that mean that Israel has failed, he's asked on the Today programme.

Mencer replies there are two parts to the aid process: the GHF, which says in a statement that it has delivered 91 million meals, but also UN co-ordinated shipments of key supplies.

He suggests that he hasn't shut one down in favour of the other, calling it a "two-pronged approach".

When presenter Nick Robinson challenges Mencer that Israel has restricted the supply of aid through bureaucratic impediments, Mencer accuses him of "lying".

Mencer then suggests that the UN is working in co-operation with Hamas to restrict the amount of aid to Gazans.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer is now being interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He's asked if Israel accepts there is malnutrition in Gaza, it is getting worse, and people are starving.

Mencer accepts there are food shortages, but says they have been "engineered" by Hamas, and says it is not Israel's fault that Hamas are "frustrating the distribution process".

Pressed again, he says there is malnutrition and repeats accusations against Hamas.

There is no restriction to the amount of aid Israel wants to send, he says, saying there are 1,000 trucks of aid waiting in Gaza for distribution.

For context, more than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have warned of mass starvation, and the UN has previously suggested hundreds of trucks are needed a day to sustain the population in Gaza. The UN has also said repeatedly that it struggles to get the necessary Israeli authorisation to collect incoming supplies and transport them through military zones.

UK minister Peter Kyle says the government is committed to recognising a Palestinian state but does not give a timescale, saying it needs to ensure sovereignty can be "exercised at the moment of attaining statehood".

France announced yesterday it will recognise a Palestinian state in September, and Kyle is asked on BBC Breakfast if the UK would follow suit.

He says the priority today is to "focus on the emergency we have before us today" and the need to get "food on people's plates", saying the prime minister is convening a meeting with the leaders of France and Germany.

Challenged again, he says: "It is a manifesto commitment of this government that we want to establish statehood for Palestine. It needs to happen in a way that will be empowering and deliver the long-term peace and stability that Palestine needs."

"We are calling for a ceasefire and then of course we will do everything we can from a position of a supporter for the region to get the circumstances where there's negotiations for the long-term statehood in Palestine and security for the region that they need," he adds.

Image source, Reuters

One in five children in Gaza City are now malnourished according to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa).

In a statement issued on Thursday, Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini said "most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need".

More than 100 international humanitarian groups have warned of mass starvation, and on Wednesday the World Health Organization (WHO) said a large proportion of the population of Gaza was "starving".

Israel, which controls the entry of all supplies into Gaza, says there is no siege and blames Hamas for any cases of malnutrition.

The UN, however, has warned that the level of aid getting into Gaza is "a trickle" and the hunger crisis in the territory "has never been so dire".

Israel stopped aid deliveries to Gaza in early March following a two-month ceasefire. It has since established a new aid system run by the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

According to the UN human rights office, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get food aid over the past two months.

It says at least 766 of them have been killed in the vicinity of the GHF's four distribution centres.

Israel has accused Hamas of instigating the chaos near the aid sites. It says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.

Starmer urged by MPs to recognise Palestinian statepublished at 07:37 British Summer Time 25 July

07:37 BST 25 July

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

Calls in Westminster for the UK to immediately recognise Palestine as a state had already been growing and are likely to be further encouraged by Macron's move.

Many Labour MPs want it to happen; the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said the UK should not be 'falling behind' on this.

This morning, a report by the Foreign Affairs Committee of MPs also calls for immediate recognition.

It would, though, put the UK in a different position to the US.

At the moment, Downing Street appears to be holding firm in saying that a ceasefire must come first.

Its focus appears to be on the immediate humanitarian situation in Gaza.

An “emergency call” to discuss it with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz seems to indicate the growing level of concern.

For context: Keir Starmer has previously said the UK should reserve recognition of Palestinian statehood for when it would have the "greatest impact" - without specifying when this would be.

Image source, Reuters

France will become the first G7 nation to recognise a Palestinian state when it makes a statement before the UN in September, President Emmanuel Macron has said.

In a social media post, Macron says the decision is “consistent” with France’s “historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East”.

After calling for a ceasefire and the “release of all hostages”, Macron says: “We must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region.”

Palestinian officials have welcomed Macron’s decision, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls it “a launch pad to annihilate Israel”.

The US also says it “strongly rejects” the declaration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls it “reckless”.

Currently, the State of Palestine is recognised by more than 140 of the 193 UN member states.

Image source, Getty Images

More now on the latest in Qatar, where the current round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations has been ongoing for the last two weeks.

As we mentioned briefly in our last post, Israel and US negotiators have departed talks yesterday, with Washington calling Hamas “selfish” and accusing the group of “not acting in good faith”.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff says in a statement that the US “decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza".

Israel, meanwhile, does not say what triggered its withdrawal, but a senior Israeli official was quoted in local media as saying there was "no collapse" in the negotiations.

Hamas said it was surprised by Witkoff's remarks and that it was keen to continue negotiations.

• There's more on the breakdown in the latest round of talks in our news article

Image source, Reuters

France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Emmanuel Macron announced last night.

Palestinian officials welcomed the decision, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it “rewards terror”, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the move is "reckless".

Macron says he and others have an obligation to show peace is possible, and that the “urgent priority today” is to end the war and bring relief to the people of Gaza.

But, also on Thursday, Israeli and US negotiators decided to leave Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, with Washington accusing Hamas of not "acting in good faith". Hamas says it was surprised by the claim, and an Israeli source insisted there was “no collapse” in negotiations.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are continuing to deteriorate rapidly. The UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) warns that one in five children in Gaza City is malnourished - in the north of the territory - and that cases are increasing every day.

Israel and Hamas both blame each other for the situation, while aid agencies have been calling on Israel to allow more aid to reach people in the territory, warning of mass starvation.

Stay with us across the day for updates and analysis.