UK recognises Palestine as Israel bombards Gaza City

Prime minister's announcement today, ahead of a key UN conference, follows growing condemnation of devastation in Gaza

- Rachel Sylvester & Isabel Coles

The prime minister will today recognise Palestine as an independent state, arguing that the international community has a moral responsibility to act, amid growing consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Ahead of a high level conference on Palestinian statehood at the UN general assembly, Keir Starmer will signal that the recognition of statehood is key to resolving a conflict that has plagued the Middle East for more than 80 years.

International support for statehood has been building as condemnation mounts over Israel's devastation of Gaza. Nearly two years since Israel invaded the enclave, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in a military campaign that a UN commission of inquiry last week called genocide.

Israel has vowed to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian state at all costs. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted furiously against the moves to recognise statehood, saying they “reward terror” following the 7 October attacks by Hamas in 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and a further 251 taken hostage. The US, Israel's strongest ally, also opposes the move.