Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday to stop the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, saying Israel had almost entirely destroyed Gaza and it was no longer fit for life.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday the Palestinian authority should exercise its full jurisdiction on the Gaza strip and all border crossings including Rafah. Abbas told the UN General Assembly the authority’s vision for the post-war era in Gaza included allowing relief aid to Gaza,

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, stressing that the Palestinian people will not leave their homeland – the land of their ancestors.