At least 17 people were killed Thursday in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials, as international pressure for a ceasefire continued to grow.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron told France 24 his country had recognized a Palestinian state on the conviction it "is the only way to isolate Hamas," which has proved itself able to regenerate even after many of its leaders have been killed.

Drones flew over four Danish airports overnight Wednesday into Thursday, the latest instance of unexplained drone activity that has raised concerns about security in northern Europe amid growing Russian aggression.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called the incidents a "hybrid attack" because the flights all occurred within roughly the same timeframe. It was not immediately clear who was behind the incidents, but Poulsen said that it appeared a "professional actor" was behind the "systematic" flights. He did not provide more details during a news conference Thursday morning.

A Paris court found former French President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty on one charge but acquitted him on others Thursday in his trial for the alleged illegal financing of his 2007 presidential campaign with money from the government of then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The court is still detailing its ruling and hasn't immediately sentenced the 70-year-old Sarkozy. That step would come later in the court proceedings Thursday. Sarkozy can appeal the guilty verdict, which would suspend any sentence pending the appeal.

President Donald Trump will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday as the Republican leader has indicated that the U.S. government's hold on sales of advanced fighter jets to Ankara may soon be lifted.

During Trump's first term, the United States kicked out Turkey, a NATO ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program after it purchased an air defense system from Russia. U.S. officials worried that Turkey's use of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.

A drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels wounded 22 people in the southern Israeli city of Eilat on Wednesday, according to medics. It was a rare breach of Israel's sophisticated missile defenses, which have greatly limited casualties from such attacks.

In the Gaza Strip, at least 41 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, according to local hospitals. U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy expressed optimism over a new plan for ending the war, without saying what it entails or if Israel or Hamas have accepted it.

Turning the page on decades of distance, Syria's president addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, marking the first time any president from his country has done so in almost 60 years. As he spoke, hundreds of people gathered in front of giant screens in Syrian cities and towns to witness the speech while waving the country's flags.

After six decades of dictatorship that killed 1 million people and tortured hundreds of thousands, "Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world," Ahmad al-Sharaa told the international community.

Iran’s rial currency fell to a new all-time low on Wednesday, reaching 1,074,000 to the U.S. dollar just before Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was due to address the United Nations.

The currency’s fall follows Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejecting direct talks with the United States over its nuclear program.

Some countries' leaders are watching rising seas threaten to swallow their homes. Others are watching their citizens die in floods, hurricanes and heat waves, all exacerbated by climate change.

But the world U.S. President Donald Trump described in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday didn't match the one many world leaders in the audience are contending with. Nor did it align with what scientists have long been observing.

Lionel Messi went to watch some soccer on Friday. He didn't say a word about his own future.

The Inter Miami star — who is closing in on a contract extension that will keep him with his Major League Soccer club through at least the 2026 season and likely beyond — showed up to watch the global finals of the 1v1 soccer tournament that he helped create and is sponsored by a hydration drink that he co-founded.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice in three minutes and teenager Franco Mastantuono made his scoring debut with Real Madrid in a 4-1 win at Levante in the Spanish league on Tuesday, a result that extended the club's winning start to the season.

Vinícius Júnior also scored for Madrid as it earned its sixth straight league victory this season.