Category World News

United States President Donald Trump has told the United Nations General Assembly that Israel’s war on Gaza must stop immediately as he calls the recent recognition of Palestinian statehood by several Western countries a “reward” for Hamas.

“We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately,” Trump told world leaders in New York on Tuesday, adding that he has been “deeply engaged” in trying to secure a ceasefire.

He reiterated his call for the captives held in Gaza to be returned home. “We have to get it done. We have to negotiate peace. We have to get the hostages back. We want all 20 back,” he said, referring to the 20 of the 48 remaining captives still believed to be alive.

Those who support peace should be united in demanding the release of the captives, he told the General Assembly.

“As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise the Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities,” he said.

In contrast, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a meeting on Sunday at the UN aimed at reviving the two-state solution that statehood for Palestinians “is a right, not a reward”.

Sultan Barakat, professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, said that while Trump called for the war to stop at once, he fell short of mentioning how.

“He knows that the main reason for [the war] sustaining itself at the moment is the fact that he is supporting it,” Barakat told Al Jazeera.

Gaza truce offers

Trump had little criticism for Israel, instead blaming breakdowns in ceasefire negotiations on Hamas. He insisted that Hamas, the Palestinian group that governed Gaza, “has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace”.

On the other side of the talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continually been accused of stalling the ceasefire negotiations since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.

Israel targeted Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha, this month as the Palestinian leaders were meeting there to discuss the latest truce proposal put forth by the US.

The Israeli prime minister broke the last ceasefire with Hamas in mid-March and imposed a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, triggering famine and starvation deaths.

The Palestinian group on Tuesday refuted any responsibility for the failure to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza. “We have never been an obstacle to reaching an agreement,” it said in a statement.

“The US administration, the mediators and the world know that Netanyahu is the sole obstructionist in all attempts to reach an agreement.”

Hamas has said it is ready for a truce that will lead to the release of captives and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and a withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, but Netanyahu has refused to commit to a full withdrawal. This month, Netanyahu decided to seize Gaza City, launching a ground invasion that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced thousands.

More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its war. The US has been heavily criticised for continuing to arm Israel in a war that a UN commission described as amounting to genocide.

Trump also dedicated some of his speech to the General Assembly to Iran, describing Tehran as the “world’s number one sponsor of terror”. He promised Iran would “never possess a nuclear weapon”.

“Three months ago in Operation Midnight Hammer, seven American B-2 bombers dropped 30,000lb [13,600kg] each bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facilities, totally obliterating everything. No other country on Earth could have done what we did,” Trump said.

While the US president claimed the operation demolished Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity, a US defence assessment later suggested the strike only delayed Iran’s nuclear progress by several months.

‘Nobel Peace Prize’

The US president delivered his remarks minutes after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had spoken, denouncing authoritarianism, environmental destruction and inequality, a contrast in tone to Trump’s focus on unilateral strength, nationalism and grievances.

Trump began his speech by taking aim at the teleprompter and a broken elevator he said he encountered at the UN headquarters before moving on to paint his administration as overseeing an economic success story in the US.

At several points, Trump returned to his record on foreign policy, claiming to have brought an end to “seven different wars” and suggesting his achievements warranted the Nobel Peace Prize. “Everyone says I should get a Nobel Peace Prize for these achievements,” he said before adding that he did not care about awards, only “saving lives”.

Taking a dig at the UN, Trump said the world body was not coming close to living up to its potential. “I had to end wars instead of the United Nations,” he said.

As the Ukraine conflict rumbles on, Trump argued the war would “never have started if I was president”. He described his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a good one” but said Moscow’s invasion is “not making Russia look good”.

He criticised Europe for continuing to buy Russian oil and gas despite sanctions, calling the practice “embarrassing”, and he singled out China and India as “primary funders” of Russia’s war effort.

“Everyone thought Russia would win in three days, but it didn’t,” Trump said while urging European Union nations to impose tariffs on Moscow.

Attacks on immigration and the UN

As the UN grapples with what experts describe as one of the most volatile periods in its 80-year history, Trump used the platform to attack the institution itself, accusing the body of “funding an assault on Western countries and their borders”. He claimed the organisation was helping “illegal aliens” enter the US by providing food, shelter, transportation and “debit cards”.

The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, does provide assistance through disbursement cards and transport programmes but in coordination with governments – not to facilitate irregular border crossings.

On Europe, Trump warned of what he called an “invasion” of immigrants and took aim at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, falsely claiming the Muslim politician wants to impose Islamic law.

The US president characterised migration and renewable energy as the biggest threat to the “free world”. He said some countries are “going to hell” over their border policies while calling climate change “the greatest con job”.

“In closing, I just want to repeat that immigration and the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet,” he said.

He also renewed attacks on climate policies and accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of aiding drug smuggling.

People in India who want to work in the US claim that President Trump’s decision to impose a new $100, 000 annual fee on H-1B worker visas “shatters the dreams of Indians.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held up a photo of a child starving in Gaza and urged world leaders to take action at the UN General Assembly.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and retired four-star US general David Petraeus have acknowledged the peculiarity of the situation taking to the stage at a political forum in New York City for an interview.

Since January, Al-Sharaa has been in office since he overthrew Bashar al-Assad and ended his family’s 50-year rule of Syria in a fierce military offensive.

Petraeus commanded US forces during their invasion of Iraq, which in turn led to the US’s capture and imprisonment of al-Sharaa in 2006 and 2011. Petraeus later held the position of CIA director.

Al-Sharaa founded the al-Nusra Front in Syria in 2012 in response to his release. It cut ties with al-Qaeda four years later. Al-Sharaa led the formation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was formed a year later when al-Nusra and other organizations merged.

HTS was labeled a “terrorist organization” by the US in 2018, citing past ties to al-Qaeda, which the US revoked in July as Washington relaxed its policy toward post-Assad Syria.

Only in late December, the US lifted al-Sharaa’s head, which had been a $10 million bounty.

timing and venue significance

Al-Sharaa, the first head of state from Syria in almost six decades, made the trip to New York on Sunday to take part in the UN General Assembly.

The leader addressed events on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Monday and the president and his large delegation met, including with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

He then took part in the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit, a global affairs forum that brings together world leaders, business executives, and NGO figures to promote public-private partnerships and dialogue alongside Petraeus.

More than 3, 600 people from 112 nations and nine heads of state were among Concordia’s more than 300 speakers last year, according to Concordia’s report from last year. Antonio Guterres, the head of US business, Warren Buffett, and Joe Biden, the former US president, are among the potential participants.

Why does Petraeus support al-Sharaa?

The former US general praised al-Sharaa, who has set an October deadline for parliamentary elections in Syria, by not only acknowledging the odd pairing but also using it.

According to Petraeus, his transition from an insurgent leader to head of state has been one of the most dramatic political transitions in recent Middle Eastern history.

He later inquired about the Syrian leader’s health and asked if he was getting enough sleep later in the interview. According to Petraeus, al-Sharaa has “many fans” and is one of them.

When asked about their history, al-Sharaa said, “We used to be in combat, but now we move on to discourse,” adding that those who have experienced war are aware of the value of peace.

The Syrian president said, “We cannot judge the past based on the laws of today, and we cannot judge the world based on the laws of today.”

Al-Sharaa, who referred to his time as a commander of al-Qaeda, said that “perhaps there were mistakes” before, but what’s important right now is preventing instability for the Syrian people and the region.

“We are sitting here among allies and friends, and our commitment to that line is what brought us here today in [New York].

Al-Sharaa claimed that he thought his cause was “noble” and merited support.

He claimed that the al-Assad regime had caused chaos in Syria this year and that “all parties made mistakes, including some of the government,” during the violence.

He continued, noting that all violators would be prosecuted by a newly formed council.

He claimed that the new government’s support for economic growth and Syria’s unification are now top priorities.

In this context, he once more requested that the US Congress revoke the 2019 Caesar Syria Civil Protection Act, which outlaws Syria.

The president reiterated his commitment to safeguarding Syria’s minority populations, including the northern Kurdish population, whose constitutional rights must be upheld. He added that the government and its army must be the only entity with guns and that Kurdish armed forces must not operate outside of the state’s purview.

The Syrian leader also mentioned Israel, citing that it has attacked Syria more than 1, 000 times since al-Assad’s fall and continues to occupy the Golan Heights.