The Israel Defense Forces is continuing its operation to take control of Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Gaza Strip, despite international outcry over the deteriorated humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, in protest of Israel's continuation of its military operations in Gaza, several nations including France, the U.K. and Canada recognized Palestinian statehood as leaders gathered in New York last week for meetings at the United Nations General Assembly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the leaders on Friday, again saying Israel will not allow an independent Palestinian state to exist.
Israeli forces killed 83 Palestinians and injured 216 others across the war-torn Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, Gaza's Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Thursday afternoon.
An Israeli Apache helicopter fires as it flies over Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, on Sept. 25, 2025.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Among those killed were seven people trying to collect humanitarian aid, while another 50 were wounded, according to the ministry.
A total of 65,427 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, the health ministry said.
-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz and Morgan Winsor
Sep 25, 2025, 7:03 AM EDT
Netanyahu departs for UN, says Palestinian state 'will not happen'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he said he would "condemn" leaders of nations who have recently recognized Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu is set to speak at the UNGA on Friday. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority -- the government exercising limited control over parts of the occupied West Bank, in cooperation with Israeli authorities -- will speak on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an event in Jerusalem, on Sept. 15, 2025.
Debbie Hill/AP
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the airport, waving Israeli flags and yellow banners, the latter representing the symbol adopted by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum to demand the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.
"I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, the rapists, the child burners, want to give them a state in the heart of the land of Israel," Netanyahu said. "This will not happen."
This week, several nations including Canada, France and the U.K. officially recognized Palestinian statehood, with leaders framing the move as a response to Israel's war in Gaza and Netanyahu's self-professed efforts to block any two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.
The Palestinian Authority foresees a future Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, its borders aligned with the so-called “Green Line” recognized by the UN before the Six-Day War of 1967.
A Palestinian state is now recognized by 157 of the 193 UN member states, including 18 of 32 NATO allies.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Sep 25, 2025, 6:18 AM EDT
IDF launches 170 Gaza strikes in 24 hours
Israeli warplanes struck more than 170 targets across the Gaza Strip in the previous 24 hours, the Israel Defense Forces said in a Thursday morning social media post.
Smoke rises from an Israeli strike as displaced Palestinians flee northern Gaza in the central Gaza Strip, on Sept. 25, 2025.
Mahmoud Issa/Reuters
The 162nd Division is "fighting deep inside Gaza City," the IDF said.
The 98th and 36th divisions are also engaged in the city, which is the strip’s largest urban area, the IDF said.
Meanwhile, the IDF said the 99th Division is operating in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, with the 143rd "Gaza" Division engaged in the south.
Sep 25, 2025, 4:21 AM EDT
Italian PM condemns Gaza flotilla attacks, asks for aid transfer
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has asked the Global Sumud Flotilla -- which is trying to ferry humanitarian aid through an Israeli naval blockade to the Gaza Strip -- to deliver its aid to Cyprus, after the group's boats came under drone attack in the Mediterranean Sea.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Meloni said, is working on a "mediation proposal" by which the flotilla's aid would be offloaded in Cyprus and handed over to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which would then deliver the aid to the Gaza Strip.
"It is a proposal that seems to have the support of the Cypriot government, the Israeli government and, of course, the Italian government," Meloni said. "We are awaiting a response from the flotilla."
Israel has warned that it will not allow any vessels through its naval blockade. "Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday.
The flotilla has accused Israel of repeatedly using drones to attack its ships. On Wednesday, the flotilla published a video purporting to show a drone attack on one of its ships off the coast of Greece.
"My condemnation of what happened last night is complete," Meloni said on Wednesday. "We are conducting our investigations to establish who is responsible."
Italy has also said it will deploy a naval frigate to protect and rescue the flotilla and its members if necessary.
