By Daphne Psaledakis and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department has called for an immediate investigation into the recent death of a U.S. citizen in Syria, and there have been direct discussions with the Syrian government about the issue, deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Thursday.

U.S. citizen Hosam Saraya died last week in the predominantly Druze region of Sweida, the State Department previously confirmed, amid ongoing sectarian clashes there.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday his country would formally recognise a Palestinian state during a UN meeting in September, the most powerful European nation to announce such a move.

At least 142 countries now recognise or plan to recognise Palestinian statehood, according to an AFP tally -- though Israel and the United States strongly oppose the move.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "reckless decision (that) only serves Hamas propaganda".

PARIS (Reuters) -France will recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations general Assembly in September, French President Emmanuel macron said on Thursday, adding that he hoped it would help bring peace to the region.

Macron, who announced the decision on X, published a letter sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirming France's intention to become the first major Western power to recognise a Palestinian state.

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Leslie Adler)

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over the situation in Gaza, which he described as an "unspeakable and indefensible" humanitarian catastrophe.

In a strongly worded statement late on Thursday, Starmer said he would discuss with partners "what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need," and called on Israel to allow aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Gazans are in desperate need of essentials after more than 21 months of war, but efforts to get aid into the Palestinian territory -- and to its hungry residents -- face major obstacles.

UN agencies and aid organisations cite Israeli restrictions, safety issues and the establishment of a US- and Israeli-backed mechanism that has sidelined the humanitarian system in place.

Israel says international organisations have failed, and that the previous UN-led system had allowed Hamas militants to loot aid trucks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States will not attend an upcoming conference on an Israel two-state solution, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday.

A conference regarding the two-state solution is scheduled to take place later in the month at the United Nations.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing by Chris Reese)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday that the Trump administration has decided to bring its team home from Gaza ceasefire talks for consultations.

"We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza," Witkoff said in a post on X. "We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home."

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

(Reuters) -Columbia University's agreement to pay over $200 million to the U.S. government in a settlement with President Donald Trump's administration to resolve federal probes and restore most of its suspended federal funding ends a period of "institutional uncertainty," the university's acting president said.

Trump has targeted several universities since returning to office in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled college campuses last year.

By John Irish and Parisa Hafezi

PARIS (Reuters) -France, Britain and Germany will hold face-to-face talks with Iran on Friday for the first time since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, aiming to gauge Tehran's appetite for a compromise to avert sanctions, diplomats say.

The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme.

Several EU countries are pushing Brussels to move forward with concrete actions against Israel over the war in Gaza for failing to improve the dire humanitarian situation, diplomats said Thursday.

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas earlier this month announced a deal with Israel to allow more aid into Gaza as warnings mount over mass-starvation in the war-ravaged territory.

The bloc's diplomatic service on Wednesday gave a first briefing to ambassadors from the EU's 27 nations on Israel's efforts to improve access to Gaza.