UN General Assembly updates: Trump, Macron address Israel’s war on Gaza

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Read about Trump’s speech at the UN General Assembly, in which he said that the war in Gaza must stop “immediately”.

Watch Qatar’s emir accuse Israel of genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people in his speech at the UN.

Watch Trump attacking the United Nations as he told the UNGA that he has helped to end seven wars – and complained about a faulty UN escalator.

• US President Trump delivered a 55-minute speech in which he called for world leaders to rally nationalism within their own countries; dismissed the UN as ineffective; and described migration and renewable energy as the biggest threats facing the “free world”.
• Trump also announced a major pivot on Ukraine, saying he now believes Kyiv can win back all of its territory from Russia militarily.
• In his speech, UN chief Antonio Guterres said that “the scale of death and destruction” in Gaza is “beyond any other conflict in my years as secretary-general.” He also warned that the ability of the world body to do its work is “being cut from us”.
• Several Arab leaders met with Trump to discuss Gaza, with Turkish President Erdogan saying the exchange was “very fruitful”, despite no concrete developments being announced.
• European allies hailed Trump’s shift on Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy saying he was surprised by the change, but believed it means the US will stand by his country as it repels Russia’s invasion.

When US President Trump delivered his remarks to the UN General Assembly earlier today, he offered a withering assessment of the international body’s competence.

“ All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle. If the First Lady wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen,” Trump said, referencing his wife, Melania Trump.

“These are the two things I got from the United Nations: a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”

Trump was referring to an incident that happened after he entered the UN building, when the escalator appeared to stop seconds after he and Melania stepped onto it. The White House has called for an investigation into the malfunction.

Now, the UN itself has weighed in on the incident.

“In an effort to document their arrival, a videographer from the US delegation stepped on to the escalator ahead of the President and First Lady,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric wrote in a statement.

Dujarric explained that the videographer may have accidentally set off one of the elevator’s safety functions.

“A subsequent investigation, including a readout of the machine’s central processing unit, indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator. The safety mechanism is designed to prevent people or objects accidentally being caught and stuck in or pulled into the gearing.”

Leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have met with US President Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The meeting came as world leaders discussed Israel’s war on Gaza from the UNGA stage — and questioned whether a ceasefire agreement is within reach.

In the video below, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra reports from the UN headquarters in New York City.

Federico Borello, the interim executive director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), has said that Trump’s speech to the UNGA this morning showed an “obvious lack of respect for international organisations that promote human rights, like the UN”.

In a statement, Borello noted that the United States played a central role in creating the UN.

While the institution “has always had shortcomings”, Borello argued that the UN is also “essential globally to monitor human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, protect refugees, and promote international accountability”.

“Countries should reject out of hand Trump’s nonsensical proposals, like to undermine the global asylum system,” said Borello.

He also called on other governments to help fund the UN’s work amid the Trump administration’s decision to cut nearly $1bn in US funding.

“Otherwise, we risk abandoning victims of abuses and war crimes while making the world a safe space for dictators, kleptocrats and human rights violators,” said Borello.

The Palestine solidarity protest outside the UNGA has been ongoing since the start of the summit.

Keffiyeh-draped demonstrators are holding Palestinian flags and chanting against the Israeli military and the starvation of Gaza.

Mohammed Choudry told Al Jazeera that the recognition of Palestine by several Western countries at the UNGA is a small but welcome step.

He called for sanctions and international boycotts of Israel to pressure an end to the assault on Gaza.

“This has been two years in the making,” he said. “At what point is it enough?”

Choudry also rebuked Trump for disparaging the UN in his speech earlier, which he said was filled with “random” and “bogus” statements, including a false claim that London is adopting Islamic law.

In his much anticipated speech, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel to end its “permanent war” with its neighbours.

Watch his remarks below.

There have been many, many surprises, to say the very least. During this first day of the General Assembly meeting here, President Trump had basically lashed out at the United Nations, questioning whether it should even exist, saying that it was just an organisation that printed a lot of papers and then didn’t follow up on them, and, worst of all, that they were unable to bring about peace or to resolve wars.

Afterwards, though, he spoke to the secretary-general of the UN and said that he was all on board with the United Nations; that he supported it. He said that it is an organisation that can do a lot of good.

And then – the surprise declaration about Ukraine.

Certainly, this is what the European Union has been hoping for. He did say that he would give the European Union, or NATO, all the weapons that it wanted or that it needed, and that it could “do what it wanted with them”. He said this, I think, right before he mentioned that NATO should shoot down the Russian planes that make incursions over EU airspace.

It’s a very different tune that we’re hearing at this hour, and it is certainly something that the EU is, I’m sure, very happy about.

Here are the latest updates:

• France’s President Macron offered a counterpoint to Trump’s address earlier today, saying that a path to global cooperation existed and calling for support for the ICC and ICJ.
• Several Arab leaders met with Trump to discuss Gaza, with Turkish President Erdogan saying the exchange was “very fruitful”, despite no concrete developments announced.
• Trump announced a major pivot on Ukraine, saying he now believes Kyiv can win back all its territory from Russia.
• European allies have hailed Trump’s shift, with Zelenskyy saying it was a surprise that underscored US support would continue.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has delivered a forceful denunciation of Israel’s war on Gaza at today’s UNGA.

In his remarks, Ramaphosa pointed to a recent determination from an independent UN commission finding that Israel had committed genocide in the Palestinian territory.

Under Ramaphosa, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December 2023, accusing it of genocide. That case is ongoing.

“South Africa has acted in the interest of saving lives by insisting that the International Court of Justice should make a ruling that, indeed, genocide is being committed in Gaza and that it should stop,” Ramaphosa said at the general debate.

Hear his remarks below.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to Trump’s pivot today on Ukraine.

As we reported earlier, Trump says he now believes Ukraine can win back all of its territory, after months of pushing for Kyiv to cut a deal that would cede occupied land to Russia.

Speaking on Fox News, Zelenskyy said he was surprised by the change, but believes it means the US will stand by Ukraine as it seeks to repel Russia’s invasion of its land.

He added that Trump “understands today that we can’t just swap territories”.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkiye, has described today’s meeting with several Arab leaders and Trump as “very fruitful”.

The meeting, which also included Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim, was called to address Israel’s war on Gaza. It came after several countries, including Qatar, Turkiye and Jordan, used their speech to the UNGA to call for a ceasefire.

Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said he was “pleased” with the outcome of the meeting. He did not provide further details.

Following France’s decision this week to formally recognise Palestinian statehood, President Emmanuel Macron called on more countries to follow suit in the name of peace.

In his remarks to the UNGA, Macron explained that such peace required several conditions to be met.

“We’ve held up our hands to forge the path towards immediate peace, the release of hostages, a ceasefire, the stabilisation of Gaza, the demilitarisation [and] dismantling of Hamas, and reciprocal recognition of two states,” Macron said.

This would mean a “Palestinian state, which is demilitarised [and] which recognises Israel, [and] an Israeli state, which recognises the state of Palestine,” he said.

Macron also added that “there cannot be any security or stability for Israel if we have a permanent war being waged with its neighbours”.