HELSINKI, Finland — Finland’s President Alexander Stubb says he is ready to approve recognition of a Palestinian state if the government moves forward with such a proposal.

Many countries, including France and Canada, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the 80th UN General Assembly in September.

“The decisions by France, the United Kingdom and Canada reinforce the trend towards recognizing Palestine as part of efforts to breathe new life into the peace process,” Stubb says in a post to X.

Finland’s president, elected for six years, has limited powers but helps coordinate the country’s foreign policy in close cooperation with the government.

“If I receive a proposal to recognize the Palestinian state, I am prepared to approve it,” Stubb says, deploring an “inhumane” situation in Gaza.

He says he understood that Finns had “different opinions on the recognition of Palestine, and that there is also concern,” calling for an “open” and “honest” debate.

The far-right Finns Party and the Christian Democrats oppose recognizing a Palestinian state.

Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Friday reiterated Helsinki’s support for a two-state solution, without specifying whether the government was ready to recognize a Palestinian state.

Discussions on foreign policy and the Middle East with the president would continue up to the UN conference at the end of September, he said.

At least two Palestinians were killed and more than 70 were injured on Friday while waiting for food aid, as Israel continues to target aid seekers in the Gaza Strip.

The latest assault comes amid a rising death toll linked to starvation, with two more babies and a young man reported dead due to Israel’s ongoing blockade of humanitarian aid.

Separately, at least 12 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the Strip on Friday.

Israel’s war on Gaza has now killed at least 60,239 people and injured 146,894 others.

Key Points

At least two Palestinians die from starvation in the last 24 hours

Over 150 retired Israeli security officials calls on the government to end the Gaza war

French minister calls for end to GHF’s militarised aid distribution in Gaza

Witkoff visit comes as Israel faces mounting pressure over starvation in Gaza

Hugo Bachega

Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Steve Witkoff’s visit to Israel and Gaza comes as Israel faces growing international isolation over the starvation crisis in the Gaza Strip, with images of emaciated children and accounts of Palestinians starving to death sparking global outrage.

Polls around the world suggest that public opinion is increasingly negative about Israel, which is putting pressure on leaders to act. According to Pew research, external published last month, before the crisis in Gaza worsened, in 20 of 24 countries surveyed, around half of adults or more had an unfavourable view of Israel – including the US.

In recent days, even some MAGA Republicans, the heart of President Trump’s base, have publicly voiced opposition to America’s support for Israel. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, an accusation that Israel has always strongly rejected. However, human rights groups, including two leading organisations based in Israel, and a growing number of experts are describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as such.

The UN, aid agencies and even some of Israel’s allies blame its restrictions on the entry and distribution of aid for the hunger crisis in Gaza. Israel has categorically rejected the allegations and has also denied that starvation is happening in the territory, despite mounting evidence.

Israel had blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza between March and May, in what was then described by Israeli authorities as a strategy to put pressure on Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which did not happen. It was accused of using food as a weapon and a war crime, which it also denied.

Then, Israel created a controversial new system for the distribution of supplies, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which requires people to walk to a handful of militarised hubs, often at great risk. It said the system, which largely bypassed the UN and other agencies with decades of experience, was needed to prevent the large-scale diversion of aid by Hamas, although it has never provided evidence of that.

The UN has described the mechanism as insufficient and inhumane, calling it “death traps”: it says more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid under the system.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited southern Gaza on Friday during international outrage over starvation, shortages and deadly chaos near aid distribution sites.

Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured one of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution sites in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, according to an official involved with the visit.

The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

All four of the group’s distribution sites are in zones controlled by the Israeli military and throughout their months in operation have become flashpoints of desperation, where starving people scramble for scarce aid. Hundreds have been killed by either gunfire or trampling.

The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

Witkoff’s visit comes a week after U.S. officials walked away from ceasefire talks in Qatar, blaming Hamas and pledging to seek other ways to rescue Israeli hostages and make Gaza safe.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that he was sent to craft a plan to boost food and aid deliveries as part of an effort “to save lives and end this crisis,” while Trump wrote on social media that the fastest way to end the crisis would be for Hamas to surrender and release hostages.

International organizations have said Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the leading international authority on food crises, said recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for 2 1/2 months, mean the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”

Though the flow of aid has resumed, including via airdrops, the amount getting into Gaza remains far lower than what aid organizations say is needed. A security breakdown in the territory has made it nearly impossible to safely deliver food to starving Palestinians, much of the limited aid entering is horded and later sold at exorbitant prices.

In a report issued Friday, Human Rights Watch called it “a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.”

Israel’s military and prime minister’s office did not respond to request for comment on the report.

A July 30 video published Thursday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showed an aid convoy driving past a border crossing as gunfire ricocheted off the ground near where crowds congregated.

“We were met on the road by tens of thousands of hungry and desperate people who directly offloaded everything from the backs of our trucks,” said Olga Cherevko, an OCHA staff member.

The war between Israel and Hamas started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

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Metz reported from Jerusalem and Frankel from Tel Aviv, Israel.