Australia, Canada, and the UK officially recognize Palestinian statehood; four killed in Israeli strike on Bint Jbeil | LIVE

Bint Jbeil municipalities condemn Israeli strike

The Union of Municipalities of Bint Jbeil released a statement condemning “the heinous massacre perpetrated this afternoon by the Israeli enemy in the town of Bint Jbeil, which claimed the lives of a family from Bint Jbeil, including children, who were visiting their hometown, their bodies torn to pieces.”

The Union called on President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese Army, and the international community to take action against Israel's violations of the November truce deal.

Israel has killed more than 300 people in Lebanon since agreeing to a cease-fire.

Recognition from Western countries 'a victory' for Palestinian rights, senior Hamas official says

“This recognition represents a victory for the rights of the Palestinian people and the legitimacy of our cause, and sends a clear message: no matter how far the occupation goes in its crimes, it will never be able to erase our national rights,” Mardawi told AFP.

Smoke rising from the site of the Israeli strike in Bint Jbeil on Sept. 21, 2025. (Photo sent to L'Orient Today by residents)

Pope Leo condemns Israel's forced displacement of Palestinians

Pope Leo spoke out against the forced displacement of Gaza civilians today, as Israel intensified its military demolition campaign in the Palestinian enclave's main city.

"Together with the pastors of the churches in the Holy Land, I repeat that there is no future based on violence, forced exile, and revenge," the Pope said during his weekly Angelus prayer.

The Holy Land encompasses parts of modern-day Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Egypt, that are sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Leo's role in advocating for peace in Gaza has become starker since Israel struck the territory's only Catholic church in July.

"The peoples need peace. Those who truly love them work for peace," the first pope from the United States added.

According to our correspondent in the South, the family members targeted by Israel earlier this evening were dual American citizens. They are originally from Bint Jbeil and lived in Hosh, near the city of Sour, in southern Lebanon. The family was apparently acquainted with the motorcycle driver, who was also killed, and who was also a resident of Hosh.

Death toll of Israeli attack on Bint Jbeil rises to 4

According to an initial report from the Health Ministry, Israel killed four people in its attacks on Bint Jbeil earlier this evening. According to our correspondent in southern Lebanon, two missiles were fired: the first targeted a motorcycle, killing its rider, while the second hit a car, killing some of its occupants — members of the same family, including children.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised "the historic and courageous step" by the United Kingdom to recognize a Palestinian state, emphasizing that it represents support for achieving peace and recognition of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

He said: "This is a reflection of the United Kingdom's commitment to legitimate international resolutions. It is an important step toward achieving a just and stable peace in the region, based on a two-state solution."

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed and thanked the countries that recognized the State of Palestine – the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, calling the decisions "courageous" and in line with international law and legitimate international resolutions in a post on X.

"These recognitions reflect the commitment of these countries to ending the occupation and achieving peace while ensuring the security, stability, and prosperity of the region and the world," the ministry said on Sunday.

"The State of Palestine and its legitimate government are ready and prepared to build the strongest and most sincere relations with these countries at all levels," it added.

Canada, the U.K. and Australia join 140 countries that have already formally recognized Palestinian statehood. That number is expected to reach 150 by the end of this week with some major Western countries adding their names to the list.

Displaced Palestinian children flee southward, after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate on 21 September 2025. (Credit: Mahmoud Issa / Reuters)

Israeli artillery launched several flares over Maroun al-Ras and Aitaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, according to our correspondent.

Benny Gantz, former member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet and leader of the Blue and White party, strongly condemned the recognition of the State of Palestine following the decisions by the UK, Canada, and Australia.

"Recognizing a Palestinian state after October 7 only encourages Hamas, prolongs the war, pushes hostage agreements further away, and sends a clear message of support to Iran and its proxies," Gantz wrote in a post on X.

He instead urged Western leaders to apply “maximum pressure” on Hamas to “relinquish power” and release the hostages “before anything else.”

The recognition of Palestine by the U.K., Canada, and Australia adds to the growing international momentum in favor of recognizing the Palestinian state, which is already recognized by over 75 percent of U.N. member states.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a statement confirming that the United Kingdom now recognizes the State of Palestine, said:

"The hope for a two-state solution is fading, but we cannot let that light go out."

He added:

"I have instructed work to be done to sanction additional Hamas officials in the coming weeks" and "Hamas can have no future, no role in government, no role in security."

A strike on a motorcycle in Bint Jbeil killed the driver, who succumbed to his injuries, and injured four others at the scene, including one in critical condition and children, according to our correspondent.

Israeli artillery launched several flares over Maroun al-Ras and Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, our correspondent reports.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated Sunday that Israel should annex the occupied West Bank in response to the recognition of a Palestinian state by Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

"The recognition of a Palestinian state by countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia (...) demands an immediate response: the immediate annexation of Judea and Samaria," he said in a statement, using the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank.

Israeli drones targeted a motorcycle in the city of Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon, wounding one person critically, according to our correspondent.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state marks a step toward "lasting peace."

Canada officially recognizes the State of Palestine, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in a statement Sunday, saying the move aims to "preserve the possibility of a two-state solution."

The announcement was made at the same time as similar declarations from the United Kingdom and Australia.

"Canada recognizes the State of Palestine and offers to work in partnership to fulfill the promise of a peaceful future for the State of Palestine and the State of Israel. This measure is part of a coordinated international effort to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution,"

the statement reads, ahead of a U.N. summit at which a dozen countries — including France — are expected to confirm their formal recognition of the Palestinian state.

Australia 'formally recognises the independent and sovereign State of Palestine', Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday.

"In doing so, Australia recognises the legitimate and long held aspirations of the people of Palestine to a state of their own," Albanese said in a statement as his country joined other major Western nations in increasing pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza.

"Today's act of recognition reflects Australia's longstanding commitment to a two-state solution, which has always been the only path to enduring peace and security for the Israeli and the Palestinian peoples."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, at the start of a Cabinet meeting, that contacts with Syria were progressing "somewhat," but that the two sides were still "very far apart," according to Reuters.

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that the ongoing negotiations with Israel aimed at reaching a security pact could be concluded "in the coming days."

"Our victory against Hezbollah has given us an opportunity we couldn't have even imagined — the possibility of making peace with our neighbors to the north," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

An Israeli drone dropped a bomb on a house during the funeral of Hezbollah member Hassan Chahrour in the village of Kfar Kila, our correspondent reports. No injuries were reported.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday expressed the Church’s solidarity with the Palestinian population in the “martyred land” of Gaza, declaring that “there is no future built on violence, forced exile, or vengeance,” at the end of the Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

Addressing representatives of Catholic associations gathered in the square behind a banner reading “Peace for Gaza,” Leo XIV praised “the initiatives across the Church that express solidarity with the brothers and sisters suffering in this martyred land” of Gaza.

Israeli settlers have assaulted a Palestinian family in the town of Deir Jarir in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reports.

The Palestinian news agency reported that the group of settlers attacked an elderly man and his son near their home in the town about 12km (7.5 miles) northeast of Ramallah. The assaults left the men with bruising and wounds to their heads and hands, the agency reported.

The settlers also smashed the windows of a nearby vehicle.

An Israeli patrol infiltrated the village of Ramiye in the Bint Jbeil district overnight and blew up a house, according to witnesses cited by our correspondent.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes recognition of a Palestinian state by various countries at the United Nations General Assembly this week will speed up implementation of a two-state solution.

Erdogan made the comments to reporters in Istanbul before his departure for the opening of the assembly’s new session in New York, where he said he would also raise the issue of Israel’s “massacres” in Gaza.

At least 71 Palestinians, including five aid seekers, have been killed and 304 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza in the latest 24-hour reporting period, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Four bodies have also been recovered from the rubble of previous Israeli attacks, the ministry added.

Israel’s war on Gaza has now killed 65,283 people and injured 166,575 since Oct. 7, 2023, the announcement said.

Three-year-old child Habeeba Abu Shaar has died “due to malnutrition and lack of treatment” in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to a source at the city’s Nasser Hospital speaking to Al Jazeera.

At least 46 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since dawn, sources in the territory’s hospitals told Al Jazeera.

Among the victims were at least eight people killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood, Al Jazeera reported, citing an emergency source.

Recognising a Palestinian state would not bring one into existence “overnight”, Britain’s deputy prime minister says, stressing that recognition must be part of a broader peace process.

“Any step to recognise it is because we wish to keep alive the prospects of a two-state solution,” David Lammy told Sky News.

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has called on the U.K. government to impose more sanctions on Israel as the United Kingdom prepares to recognize a Palestinian state.

Swinney welcomed the U.K. recognition of a Palestinian state as a "historic moment" but said it must not be conditional and must be backed by sanctions.

Swinney has asked the U.K. government to commit to a range of measures including withdrawing from the U.K.-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, ending all military cooperation with Israel while the war continues and facilitating the evacuation of injured children from Gaza for treatment in Scotland.

He has also called on it to set out the U.K.'s plans for ensuring that the implementation of the Strategic Defense Review does not support Israel, and for an end to all defense exports to Israel.

He also called for a cease-fire and said that humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow freely into Gaza.

Israeli strikes killed at least 34 people in Gaza City overnight, including children, said health officials on Sunday, as Israel presses ahead with its offensive in the famine-stricken city and several countries prepare to recognize a Palestinian state.

Health officials at Shifa Hospital, where most of the bodies were brought, said the dead included 14 people killed in a late-night strike Saturday, which hit a residential block in the southern side of the city.

Health staff said a nurse who worked at the hospital was among the dead, along with his wife and three children.

Heavy drone flights have been observed over various regions of South Lebanon since this morning, according to our correspondent.

The United Kingdom and Portugal are set to officially recognise the State of Palestine, despite strong pressure from the United States and Israel, ahead of the arrival of heads of state for the U.N. General Assembly.

An increasing number of countries, long close to Israel, have taken this symbolic step in recent months as Israel has intensified its offensive on Gaza, triggered by a deadly attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in 2023.

At a summit co‑presided by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday, focusing on the future of the two‑state solution, around ten countries are expected to formally confirm recognition of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli army claimed Sunday that it killed a sniper affiliated with Hamas in Gaza — Majed Abou Salmiya — whose brother, the director of al‑Shifa Hospital, denounced the claim as a “lie.”

Salmiya, one of the few hospital directors with a facility still operational in the Palestinian territory, told AFP on Saturday that his brother and sister‑in‑law had been killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City.

On Sunday, the Israeli military identified the deceased as Majed Abou Salmiya, presenting him as a Hamas sniper.

Jordan has reopened its border crossing with the Israeli-occupied West Bank for travelers only, three days after closing it following a shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and led to the suspension of aid deliveries to Gaza.

According to an official statement, the crossing — located in the Jordan Valley — reopened on Sunday for passengers only, while the entry of goods remains suspended until further notice. The border post is the only exit route for West Bank Palestinians that does not pass through Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to impose new sanctions on Hamas alongside the UK's anticipated recognition of a Palestinian state on Sunday, the Telegraph reports.

The Israeli army estimates that it has destroyed up to 20 high-rise buildings in Gaza City over the past two weeks and believes more than 500,000 people have fled the city since early September.

Hamas contests those figures, claiming fewer than 300,000 residents have left and around 900,000 remain — including Israeli hostages.

On Telegram, Hamas’s armed wing posted a montage of hostages, warning that their lives were at risk due to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza City. The group also claimed that since August 11, Israeli forces have destroyed or damaged more than 1,800 residential buildings and over 13,000 tents sheltering displaced families.

In Gaza, Israeli forces continued their assault on the city and across the strip on Saturday, destroying tunnels and booby-trapped structures in attacks that killed at least 60 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities cited by Reuters.

This intensified campaign comes as ten countries — including Australia, Belgium, the UK, and Canada — are expected to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state on Monday, just ahead of the UN General Assembly.

Israel’s ground offensive has focused on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City, with artillery strikes hitting Sheikh Radwan and Tel al-Hawa, as forces appear positioned to advance toward the city’s center and west.

Most of the city’s population is now concentrated in these targeted areas.

In Syria, seven civilians were killed Saturday in a government airstrike in the north of the country, in an area where clashes have erupted with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Key development this morning:

U.S. Deputy Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus arrived in Beirut over the weekend and began her tour with a visit to Ras al-Naqoura in the Sour district, where she attended a meeting of the cease-fire monitoring committee, according to several local media outlets.

She is not expected to hold any political meetings and will reportedly meet only with security officials.

According to our correspondent, no major new incidents have occurred in South Lebanon since an Israeli drone strike killed a Hezbollah member in the Marjayoun district on Saturday. However, Israeli drones continue to fly intensively over several areas of the South.

The Lebanese Army reports that Israel has violated the cease-fire — agreed in November 2024 between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah — over 4,500 times. That ceasefire ended 13 months of fighting triggered by the Gaza war.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of developments across the Middle East.

We’ll be following updates from Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and other countries impacted by the conflicts that have been raging since Oct.7, 2023.