Palestine News Today: World Leaders Condemn Gaza Destruction at the UN
22 September 2026. Your daily round-up of the most important news about Palestine, compiled from international and regional sources. Today: in his final General Assembly speech as Secretary-General, António Guterres condemns the destruction of Gaza, joined by Jordan, Turkey and Brazil, while Palestinian football returns in the West Bank. Below, each story in brief, with links to the reporting it is based on.
Guterres Condemns Gaza Destruction in Final UN Address
In his final General Assembly speech as Secretary-General, António Guterres condemned the killing and destruction in Gaza and warned that settlement expansion and displacement in the West Bank are pushing the region towards further conflict.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Jordan, Turkey and Brazil Speak Out
Jordan's King Abdullah II called settler incursions in the West Bank a strategy of forced displacement that should be treated as a war crime. Turkey's President Erdogan said more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, prompting the Israeli delegation to walk out, and Brazil's President Lula said Gaza's pain and trauma will last for generations.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera
Communal Ovens Keep Gaza's Families Fed
With fuel expensive and food scarce, displaced families in Gaza are using communal ovens to bake bread, which often becomes the whole meal for their children, Al Jazeera reports.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Palestinian Football Returns After Three Years
The Martyrs' World Cup has brought organised club football back to the West Bank for the first time in nearly three years, with Arab Orthodox Beit Jala and Dheisheh Youth among the teams cheered on by families in the stands.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Dozens Held After Raid on Biddu
At least 53 young men were held in the West Bank town of Biddu after repeated Israeli raids put it under lockdown, with schools and businesses closed.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Eleven-Year-Old Killed Near Khan Younis
Israeli tanks opened fire on tents for displaced people near Khan Younis, killing 11-year-old Ismail al-Bardawil. Four Palestinians were killed in total that day.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Gaza's Children Return to Class
Tens of thousands of children in Gaza have returned to classrooms in tents and makeshift spaces. UNICEF says 98 per cent of Gaza's schools were destroyed or damaged during the war.
Sources: Al Jazeera
Context: Gaza and the West Bank
A year of ceasefire has brought Gaza no rebuilding. Strikes continue, entry restrictions remain, and humanitarian agencies say the shortages of fuel and equipment are now the main obstacle to recovery. Health officials in Gaza record more than 73,900 people killed and over 174,000 injured since October 2023. The figures include those killed in the months since the ceasefire was announced.
Sources: Al Jazeera, OCHA
Across the occupied West Bank, the UN counts 275 communities hit by settler attacks in 2026, a pace that has almost equalled last year's record with months still to run. Demolitions continue alongside the attacks: over 1,100 structures have been torn down this year for lacking permits that Israel rarely grants, displacing more than 1,500 people. UNICEF says 98 per cent of Gaza's schools were destroyed or damaged during the war, and more than 90 per cent of the territory lies in ruins, leaving families sheltering in buildings that engineers have assessed as unsafe.
Sources: OCHA
The UN has warned that the risks facing Gaza's civilians grow sharper as winter approaches, with flooding expected in areas where families are living in tents and damaged buildings and where sanitation has already broken down. Accountability efforts continue in parallel: cases before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, national investigations in several countries, and growing calls for arms embargoes and trade restrictions.
Sources: OCHA
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