Israel To Skip Emergency UN Security Council Meeting On Gaza

Israel will skip an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Gaza scheduled for Tuesday because of the Jewish New Year, its envoy to the UN said calling the timing "regrettable".

As a country directly affected by the deliberations of the UN's top security body, Israel had been invited to address the Council's discussion of the devastating conflict in Gaza on the sidelines of the UN's high-level week.

Israeli troops are pressing a major ground offensive to capture Gaza's largest urban centre, with AFP footage showing plumes of smoke rising over Gaza City Monday as Palestinians carrying their belongings fled southwards.

"I wish to inform you that the delegation of Israel will not participate in this meeting, as it coincides with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year," Ambassador Danny Danon said in a separate letter to the rotating Security Council president.

"Despite Israel's request to the Presidency and Council members to reschedule, the meeting remains set for that date - one of the most significant in the Jewish calendar, marking the start of the High Holy Days."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Friday amid a slew of recognitions of a Palestinian state by Western countries. Israel has angrily denounced these big policy changes.

"It's unfortunate that the Security Council will meet without Israel," Danon in a video statement issued Monday.

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