Britain, Australia and Canada on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state, a significant shift in decades of western foreign policy that has triggered swift Israeli anger.

It puts Israel under huge international pressure over the conflict in Gaza triggered almost two years ago by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

"Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a message on X.

Also on X, Canadian Prime Minister wrote: "Canada recognizes the State of Palestine and offers our partnership in building the promise of a peaceful future for both the State of Palestine and the State of Israel."

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly which opens on Monday in New York.

The move aligns these countries with more than 140 other nations that recognise a Palestinian state. China recogised Palestinian statehood in 1988.

It is a watershed moment for Palestinians and their decades-long ambitions for statehood, with the most powerful western nations having long argued it should only come as part of a negotiated peace deal with Israel.

But the move puts those countries at odds with the United States and Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacting angrily and vowing to oppose it at the UN talks.

Calls for a Palestinian state "would endanger our existence and serve as absurd reward for terrorism," Netanyahu said earlier on Sunday.

A growing number of longtime allies have shifted positions, as Israel intensified its Gaza offensive, vowing to eliminate the Hamas Palestinian militants.

The Gaza Strip has suffered vast destruction, a rising death toll and a lack of food that has sparked a major humanitarian crisis since the start of the conflict. (AFP/Reuters)