LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain and Portugal were on Sunday expected to recognize a Palestinian state, ahead of a key week at the United Nations' (UN) gathering where a suite of countries are set to do the same to pressure Israel over Gaza.

A growing number of longtime Israeli allies have shifted positions in recent months as Israel has intensified its Gaza offensive, triggered by Hamas' unprecedented 2023 attack.

The besieged Palestinian territory has suffered vast destruction, death and lack of food that have resulted in a major humanitarian crisis.

World leaders will gather for a key debate at the UN General Assembly in New York this week where the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be front and center.

Around 10 nations are expected to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming days, with UK media outlets like the BBC, reporting that Prime Minister Keir Starmer would announce the policy shift on Sunday — over fierce Israeli objection.

Starmer had said in July that Britain would formally recognize the State of Palestine if Israel did not take "substantive steps" towards a ceasefire with Hamas by the time the UN General Assembly convened.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of rewarding "monstrous terrorism" and appeasing "jihadist" ideology.

Portugal's foreign ministry said on Friday that it would also formally declare its recognition on Sunday.

Lisbon had already announced in July that it intended to do so, citing the "extremely worrying evolution of the conflict" as well as the humanitarian crisis and Israel's repeated threats to annex Palestinian land.

Since then, Israel has bombarded Gaza, a UN-backed hunger monitor has declared a famine in part of the territory and the Israeli military has said it will use "unprecedented force" to capture Gaza City.

France and Canada are among the other Western nations planning to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN gathering in the coming week.

Israel has vehemently opposed the moves and has reportedly threatened to annex the West Bank in response.

Path of reconciliation

After militants killed his parents during Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, Maoz Inon vowed to reject revenge and choose a path of reconciliation — for his own healing and his country's.

The 49-year-old is among thousands of Israelis now calling on the international community to formally recognize the State of Palestine ahead of a UN summit next week.

For Inon, a tourism entrepreneur who became involved in the peace movement around 20 years ago, dialogue, recognition and forgiveness on both sides are key to a secure future for the region.

"By revenging the death, we are not going to bring them back to life. And we're only going to escalate the cycle of violence, bloodshed, and revenge we've been trapped within, not since October 7, but for a century," he said.

When militants attacked Israel, Inon said he "wasn't surprised" after the years of "occupying, oppressing and walling between us and the other side."

"I knew it's going to explode in our face," he told Agence France-Presse in Tel Aviv. "I didn't, in my worst nightmare, (think) I will pay the price."

Inon has since become a key figure in a new campaign calling for Palestinian statehood, but the initiative is facing an uphill battle for Israeli hearts and minds.

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, only 21 percent of Israeli adults think Israel and a Palestinian state can co-exist peacefully — the smallest share since they began asking the question in 2013.

The campaign's petition, titled "No to War - Yes to Recognition," has so far garnered the signatures of more than 8,500 Israelis, with organizers hoping to submit the document with 10,000 names at the UN General Assembly.

"Recognizing a Palestinian state is not a punishment for Israel, but a step toward a safer and better future, based on mutual recognition and security for both peoples," the petition reads.

The initiative was launched by Israeli grassroots movement Zazim Community Action, which has distributed thousands of posters and put up a billboard in Tel Aviv as part of the campaign.

Farewell photos

Hamas' armed wing published Saturday "farewell" photographs of most of the remaining hostages in Gaza, warning that Israel's assault on Gaza City could endanger them.

With the images, it evoked the case of an Israeli pilot missing since 1986 after being shot down over Lebanon.

Of the 251 people seized by Palestinian militants during their attack on Israel in October 2023, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

"Due to (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's obstinacy and (military chief Eyal) Zamir's submission.... a farewell photograph taken at the start of the operation in Gaza" City, the Brigades wrote alongside the photos.

Israel launched a ground assault on Gaza City on Tuesday, following weeks of heavy air strikes that continue on the territory's largest urban center.

Hundreds of thousands of residents have fled, while families of hostages have urged the government to halt the offensive, warning it risks the lives of their loved ones still in captivity in Gaza.