Assembly votes 143 to nine, with 25 abstentions, signalling Israel’s growing isolation on the world stage

The UN general assembly has voted overwhelmingly to back the Palestinian bid for full UN membership, in a move that signalled Israel’s growing isolation on the world stage amid global alarm over the war in Gaza and the extent of the humanitarian crisis in the strip.

The assembly voted by 143 to nine, with 25 abstentions, for a resolution called on the UN security council to bestow full membership to the state of Palestine, while enhancing its current mission with a range of new rights and privileges, in addition to what it is allowed in its current observer status.

Gaza counter-protesters at UCLA took part in anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-vaccine events across southern California, researchers say

As the University of California, Los Angeles is reeling from a late-night attack on a student protest encampment for Gaza last week, attention is turning to the disparate group of counter-protesters who had rallied against the encampment in the lead-up to the violence, including during chaotic dueling rallies two days before.

Many witnesses to the 30 April melee observed that the small group of assailants – many of them masked – did not appear to be students. More than 30 people were injured , according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair). Authorities are still working to identify the perpetrators, and have not made any arrests.

Failing to stop an all-out attack on Rafah would make the US president look weak – an unthinkable prospect in election year

Beware cornering a US president anxious about re-election. Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ignored that advice in his dealings with Joe Biden, and this week his country learned the price.

It came in the revelation that Biden had withheld the supply of about 3,500 bombs, refusing to let US munitions play a part in an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge. The president was at pains to say he was not giving up his “ironclad” commitment to Israel. Instead, it was just the specific, long-threatened Rafah operation that he would not back with weapons. “We’re not walking away from Israel’s security,” Biden told CNN . “We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.”

Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist

Competing rallies are on the streets, Netherlands’ entrant is under investigation and others complain music is being overshadowed

The official motto of the 68th edition of Eurovision is “united by music”, but as the continent’s beglittered and sequined masses descended on the Swedish city of Malmö for Saturday’s grand final, music’s ability to heal and bridge divides was looking in serious doubt.

In the run-up to the song contest’s main event, the Netherlands’ performer Joost Klein missed his slot in the dress rehearsals after being put under investigation by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) due an unexplained “incident”.

People who have already been repeatedly displaced by war describe their difficulties as they seek safety elsewhere in Gaza

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Under a blazing summer sun, tens of thousands of Palestinians fled Israeli bombardment and clashes with Hamas militants in Rafah on Friday, choking roads with donkey carts, bicycles, pickup trucks and wheelchairs.

More than 150,000 people have now left Gaza’s southernmost city since receiving warnings on Monday from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of an imminent military operation, with most moving after airstrikes and fighting intensified later in the week.

Actions of Netanyahu’s government have sparked international anger and made a long-threatened ‘diplomatic tsunami’ real

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Israel is facing a long-threatened “diplomatic tsunami” on multiple fronts over its handling of the war in Gaza and the unprecedented rise in violent settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Amid almost monthly sanctions announcements from the US and European capitals over settler violence, which have incrementally expanded their scope, the Guardian understands yet more potential targets are under consideration.

The White House says that more civilian deaths in Rafah will play into Hamas’ ‘twisted narrative’ about Israel; UNGA resolution calls on security council to reconsider membership request

• See all of our Israel-Gaza war coverage

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to submit a highly critical report to Congress as soon as Friday on Israel’s conduct in Gaza that stops short of concluding it has violated the terms for its use of US weapons, Axios said.

The report, citing three officials, added that the State Department was reviewing the use of weapons by Israel and six other countries engaged in different armed conflicts.

The vote by the 193-member General Assembly on Friday will act as a global survey of support for the Palestinians. An application to become a full UN member first needs to be approved by the Security Council and then the General Assembly.

But while the General Assembly alone cannot grant full UN membership, the draft resolution being put to a vote on Friday will give the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges from September 2024 - like a seat among the UN members in the assembly hall - but it will not be granted a vote in the body.

Agency chief says compound has suffered a number of attacks with the lives of UN staff ‘at a serious risk’

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has temporarily closed its east Jerusalem headquarters after “Israeli extremists” set fire to the perimeter following weeks of repeated attacks.

“This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the Unrwa headquarters in occupied east Jerusalem,” agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X, lamenting that it was the second attack on the compound in a matter of days.

Thousands had marched against the country’s inclusion in Saturday’s final but Eden Golan’s entry was voted through

Israel has made it through to the final of the Eurovision song contest, setting the stage for a tense and politically charged event in Malmö on Saturday.

At Thursday’s second semi-final in Sweden’s third largest city, viewers from the competing countries backed the Israeli singer Eden Golan as one of the 10 entries to progress.