Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his country intends to recognise a Palestinian state.
Mr Carney said the planned move was predicated on the Palestinian Authority's (PA) commitment to reforms, including commitments to fundamentally change its governance and to hold general elections in 2026, in which Hamas could play no part.
The country would formally do so during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September.
Mr Carney said the prospects of achieving a two-state solution had been "steadily and gravely eroded".
"For decades, it was hoped that this would be achieved as part of a peace process built around a negotiated settlement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority," he said.
"Regrettably, this approach is no longer tenable."
He said reasons for this included the threat of Hamas to Israelis and Hamas's rejection of a two-state solution, settler violence against Palestinians, and the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza".
"The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delaying coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life," he said.
Israel's foreign ministry rejected the Canadian statement.
"The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages," it wrote on X in a statement.
The White House, in similar terms, said US President Donald Trump believed a "Palestinian state would be rewarding Hamas and [he] does not think they should be rewarded".
Canada follows in the footsteps of the UK and France, whose leaders have declared similar intentions.
Mr Carney said he talked to French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before making his announcement.
Hours before, Malta told a high-level UN meeting it too would formally recognise the state of Palestine in September.
On Wednesday, Australia, Canada and 13 other countries signed a statement supporting a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
Speaking on behalf of the Australian government, Jim Chalmers said on Thursday that it was a matter of "when, not if" Australia moves to recognise Palestine.
But the treasurer stopped short of putting a timeframe on it.
"It's been a longstanding bipartisan policy that we see a two-state solution in that part of the Middle East," he told ABC's News Breakfast.
"[The] momentum that we are seeing in the international community is welcome, but it's also conditional.
"There are a number of obstacles still in the way to recognition of a Palestinian state. For example, the treatment, the release of the hostages, making sure that there's absolutely no role for Hamas."
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Currently, there is no universally recognised Palestinian state.
Instead, there are the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which include Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Given that Palestinians do not have full sovereignty and live under Israeli occupation, recognition of statehood is largely seen as a symbolic move.
Still, Gazan man Saed al-Akhras said he hoped it marked a "real shift in how Western countries view the Palestinian cause".
"Enough! Palestinians have lived for more than 70 years under killing, destruction, and occupation, while the world watches in silence," he said.
Two Hamas officials did not respond to requests for comment on the demand for the group to hand over its weapons to the PA, which now has limited control of parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Hamas has previously rejected calls to disarm, while Israel has ruled out letting the PA run Gaza.
The Gaza health ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, local time, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition.
Israel's war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people in a terrorist attack and took another 251 hostage.
Since then, Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 60,000 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.
ABC/Reuters
