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Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, in a phone call today with Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, discussed developments in the Middle East, most notably the latest updates related to the Palestinian cause and the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. The two sides also exchanged views during the call on ways to intensify efforts to ensure universal adherence to international law and UN resolutions, with the goal of achieving security, peace, and the advancement of justice.

The Arab League today welcomed the overwhelming adoption by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) of a draft resolution endorsing the 'New York Declaration', issued last July, which supports the implementation of the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. In a statement, Secretary-General of the League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the strong majority in favor of the resolution reflects a growing international consensus on the urgent need to implement the two-state solution, adding that countries which chose not to support the resolution are placing themselves on the wrong side of history. He added that the General Assembly's adoption of the resolution reinforces the outcomes of the recent conference focused on the two-state solution, and significantly contributes to building international momentum - particularly as several countries prepare to formally recognize the State of Palestine in the coming days, coinciding with the high-level summit on September 22.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education confirmed that the education system is being subjected to an ongoing, unprecedented, and systematic annihilation, particularly in the Gaza Strip, by the Israeli occupation. Thousands of school and university students were martyred, and hundreds of educational facilities were destroyed, representing a major crime against humanity and a clear violation of the right to education. In a statement issued on the occasion of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, the ministry explained that the West Bank, including Jerusalem, is witnessing a comprehensive targeting of the education system amid an escalation in violations against staff, students, and educational and academic institutions. This is particularly true in Jerusalem, the northern West Bank districts, the Jordan Valley, Yatta, and the Old City of Hebron, through acts of destruction, raids, and harassment of schools, students, and staff. The ministry called on the international community, UN institutions, human rights organizations, and education advocates to assume their responsibilities and take urgent action to stop this genocide against Palestinian education. It also called for the protection of schools, students, teachers, and educational and academic personnel in accordance with international laws and conventions. Education is a right, and targeting it is a crime. The ministry also stressed that this day is an opportunity to shed light on the violations that have affected education in the Gaza Strip, to the point that they amount to educational genocide.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Monday with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and bilateral relations between Palestine and the United Kingdom. During the meeting, Abbas outlined key Palestinian priorities, including an immediate and lasting ceasefire, unrestricted access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the release of hostages and detainees, the withdrawal of occupying forces, and the launch of early recovery and reconstruction efforts. He reiterated that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine and affirmed that the Palestinian government will assume full responsibility for the territory, with support from Arab and international partners.

Four Israelis were killed, and 16 others injured, some seriously, in a shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported, citing Israeli media. Reports said that four Israelis died from critical wounds sustained in the attack, while the attackers were shot at the scene.Authorities closed roads leading to the area as large numbers of police and security forces deployed. Medical crews continued to treat the wounded and transport them to nearby hospitals.

The death toll of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 64,368 martyrs and 162,367 injured. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza stated Saturday that 68 martyrs and 362 injured arrived at the sector’s hospitals in the past 24 hours, noting that the number of martyrs and injuries since the occupation breached the ceasefire agreement on March 18 has reached 11,828 martyrs and 50,326 injured.It also noted that hospitals had received 23 martyrs in the past 24 hours among aid victims, along with 143 injured, bringing the total number of martyrs who died seeking sustenance to 2,385 people, and the injured to 17,577.The ministry further reported that hospitals in the sector recorded 6 new deaths due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of victims of the systematic Israeli starvation of Gaza's residents to 385 deaths, including 135 children.The Israeli occupation continues its genocidal war against Gaza and its people, disregarding international calls to stop the killing machine and open the crossings to allow humanitarian aid, amid an unprecedented catastrophic humanitarian situation.

The Arab League has said that peaceful coexistence in the Middle East cannot be achieved without a Palestinian state and an end to what it described as Israel's "hostile practices".In a resolution submitted by Egypt and Saudi Arabia and adopted on Thursday, the League said that "the failure to reach a just solution to the Palestinian cause and the hostile practices of the occupying power" remain major obstacles to "peaceful coexistence" in the region.The resolution was part of a wider meeting in Cairo which wrapped up yesterday with Arab foreign ministers endorsing a "Joint Vision for Security and Co-operation in the region".The Arab League affirmed support for the joint Qatari-Egyptian efforts aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement and restoring normal life in the Gaza Strip.The meeting came as Israeli forces intensified their military offensive around Gaza City — the territory's largest urban centre — and just days after Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for annexation of swathes of the West Bank to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state".In the resolution, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, the Arab League said that lasting peace, co-operation and coexistence in the Middle East are not possible while Israel continues to occupy Arab land or "issues implicit threats to occupy or annex further Arab lands".In its resolution, the League said any lasting settlement must be based on a two-state solution and the 2022 Arab Peace Initiative, which offers a full normalisation of relations in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupied in 1967.

The Israeli military destroyed a high-rise in Gaza City Friday, shortly after announcing it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its planned seizure of the urban hub.Despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to halt its nearly two-year offensive in Gaza, Israel has been calling up reservists, intensifying its bombardments and closing in on Gaza City ever since announcing its intention to capture the Palestinian territory's largest city.AFP footage showed the Mushtaha Tower in the city's Al-Rimal neighbourhood collapsing after a massive explosion at its base, sending a thick cloud of smoke and dust billowing into the sky.AFP photographs of the aftermath showed Palestinians inspecting the rubble and debris of the collapsed building.Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal accused Israel of carrying out "a policy of forced displacement against civilians" in its targeting of high-rise buildings.The agency said Israeli strikes in and around Gaza City killed at least 19 people, among at least 32 Palestinians killed across the territory Friday.A member of Hamas's political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, said Israeli claims the group was operating in the high-rises were "nothing but flimsy pretexts and blatant lies."The UN estimates that nearly 1mn people live in Gaza City and its surroundings, an area where it last month declared a famine.

The death toll of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 64,231 martyrs and 161,583 injured. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza stated Thursday that 84 martyrs and 338 injured arrived at the sector's hospitals in the past 24 hours, noting that the number of martyrs and injuries since the occupation breached the ceasefire agreement on March 18 has reached 11,699 martyrs and 49,542 injured.It also noted that hospitals received in the past 24 hours 17 martyrs among aid victims, along with 174 injured, bringing the total number of martyrs who died seeking sustenance to 2,356 people, and the injured to 17,244.The ministry further reported that hospitals in the sector recorded 3 new deaths due to famine and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of victims of the systematic Israeli starvation of Gaza's residents to 370 deaths, including 131 children.The Israeli occupation continues its genocidal war against Gaza and its people, disregarding international calls to stop the killing machine and open the crossings to allow humanitarian aid, amid an unprecedented catastrophic humanitarian situation.

Israeli reservists began responding to call-up orders Tuesday, swelling the military's ranks ahead of a planned offensive to capture Gaza City after nearly two years of devastating war. Despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its campaign, Israel has recently been stepping up operations as it lays the groundwork for seizing the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre.Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 82 people Tuesday across the Strip, which has been in the grips of a major humanitarian crisis for months. Gaza's civil defence agency said 10 people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a residential building in the southwest of Gaza City.AFP footage from the aftermath of the strike in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood showed Palestinians carrying a dead girl from the rubble of the top floor. "We were sleeping safely in our homes and suddenly we woke up to the sound of bombing and destruction and found most of our neighbours murdered and injured," said Sanaa al-Dreimli. In Tel Aviv Tuesday, a group of reservists refusing to serve in the war who called themselves "Soldiers for the Hostages" held a public event urging their fellow reservists and active-duty soldiers not to report for service.Israeli media has reported that around 40,000 reservists were being mobilised in the first wave. The UN estimates that nearly a million people live in and around Gaza City, where a famine has been declared. Army chief Eyal Zamir told reservists reporting for duty Tuesday they were being deployed to "enhance the strikes of our operation".The military has intensified its bombardment of Gaza City, and has been operating on its outskirts in recent days. "We are already entering places we have never entered before," Zamir said. Weary Palestinians in Gaza City told AFP they felt helpless and desperate ahead of the looming offensive. "There is no place for us to go, and no means to get there.We are exhausted physically and mentally from displacement and from the war," 60-year-old Amal Abdel-Aal, who lives in a tent in the city's west, told AFP by telephone. In a post on X Tuesday, a military spokesman warned Gazans of the upcoming "expansion of combat operations towards Gaza City". "We wish to remind you that in Al-Mawasi enhanced services will be provided, with an emphasis on access to medical care, water and food," Avichay Adraee said, referring to an area in the south that Israel has designated a humanitarian zone but which has been hit by repeated strikes.In mid-August, the UN human rights office said Palestinians in Al-Mawasi had "little or no access to essential services and supplies". Khalil al-Madhoun, 37, who lives in a partially destroyed apartment in western Gaza City said he had travelled twice to the south looking for somewhere to pitch a tent but found no space. "The centre and the south are completely overcrowded," he told AFP by telephone. Most of Gaza's population of more than two million people has been displaced at least once during the war.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani discussed with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, bilateral relations and means to further develop them, particularly in the trade and investment fields.This came during a phone call His Highness the Amir received Tuesday from Carney. The call also dealt with key regional and international developments of mutual interest.During the call, His Highness the Amir welcomed Canada's announcement of its intention to recognise the State of Palestine, emphasising that this positive step is consistent with international legitimacy resolutions and supports the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people.In this regard, the two sides stressed the need to maintain security and stability in the region, which would contribute to supporting peace and development efforts.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens performed Friday prayers at the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque, arriving since the early morning hours despite the Israeli occupation's military restrictions.Local sources reported that occupation forces intensified their military measures around the Old City of Jerusalem, obstructing the movement of worshipers and their entry to Al Aqsa, while police officers were present among the worshipers during the prayer.A source from the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem confirmed that Al Aqsa Mosque is expected to witness aggression by settlers during the upcoming months of September and October, coinciding with Jewish holidays, which settlers are expected to exploit to increase their incursions and impose new Judaization rituals in the mosque.He stated that the incursions take place under the protection of occupation forces, during which settlers perform Talmudic rituals, raise occupation flags, prostrate, blow the horn, bring in plant offerings and temple tools, and turn the eastern area into a miniature synagogue.