World leaders gather in New York as Mid-East tensions escalate

World leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 

The news comes amidst fears of an all-out regional conflict as Israeli strikes in Lebanon devastate parts of the country, killing more than 560 in two days. 

Those attacks came days after a deadly assault using rigged communication devices in the country last week killed dozens and injured nearly 3,000 people, many of them civilians. 

Lebanon blamed Israel for the attack, but Israel has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

At the General Assembly, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the war between Israel and Hamas. 

Acknowledging that Israel has the right to defend its borders, she said it must also “respect international law, protecting civilian populations”. 

Meloni also recognised that the Palestinian people have the right to their state.

“We need Palestinians to entrust it to a leadership that is inspired by dialogue and by stabilising the Middle East,” she said. 

At the end of her speech, Meloni demanded a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza and for all the hostages from the October 7 attack to be released.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says that Israel’s nearly year-long war has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezehskian called on the international community to “bring about a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and bring an end to the desperate barbarism of Israel in Lebanon”. 

“Naturally blind Israeli state terrorism over the past few days in Lebanon, followed by a massive aggression with thousands of victims, cannot go unanswered,” he said. 

“The responsibility for all consequences will be borne by those governments who have thwarted all global efforts to end this horrific catastrophe and have the audacity to call themselves ‘champions of human rights’.”

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the situation in Gaza “a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it”, and said escalating air attacks across the Israel-Lebanon border have put Lebanon “at the brink”. 

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country speaks first in a tradition dating to the early years of the UN, also criticised Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.

“The right to self-defence became a right for vengeance, which prevents a deal for the release of hostages and delays a ceasefire,” he said.