Gaza’s death toll rose sharply on September 24th: by local tallies, at least 85 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them in Gaza City. Eight died while waiting for aid, and another ten were struck down at a stadium in Nuseirat camp that had become a refuge for the displaced. Seventeen more were injured there.

Israel’s ground assault shows little sign of slowing. Yet even as the bombardment intensifies, diplomacy is shifting elsewhere. In New York, at the UN’s annual gathering, an expanding cluster of governments signalled readiness to recognise a Palestinian state.