(Reuters) -The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt called on Friday for a three-month humanitarian truce in Sudan followed by a permanent ceasefire, the countries said in a joint statement.

The so-called "Quad" countries are seen as having the most influence with the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who have fought a devastating war that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis and spread famine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will offer robust support to Israel on a trip timed before French-led moves for a Palestinian state, the State Department said Friday, despite US unease over Israel's airstrike in Qatar.

President Donald Trump will meet over dinner with Qatar's prime minister on Friday, the White House said, after he gently chided Israel for the attack Tuesday on Hamas in Qatar, a key US military and diplomatic partner.

The UN General Assembly voted Friday to back a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine -- without the involvement of Hamas.

The text was adopted by 142 votes in favor, 10 against -- including Israel and key ally the United States -- and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a meeting of world leaders.

The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the U.N. in July - hosted by Saudi Arabia and France - on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares summoned the Israeli charge d'affaires in Madrid on Friday over recent comments about Spain made by the office of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Albares summoned Dana Erlich - currently Israel's top diplomat in Madrid - to "categorically reject the false and slanderous statements from the Israeli prime minister's office", Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's top diplomat Marco Rubio will fly to Israel this weekend amid tensions among fellow U.S. allies in the Middle East over Israel's strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.

State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement that Rubio would depart on Saturday to visit Israel before joining up with President Donald Trump's planned visit to Britain next week.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will leave Saturday on a trip to Israel to offer support before French-led moves to recognize a Palestinian state, the State Department said.

Rubio is going ahead with the visit despite President Donald Trump gently reprimanding Israel for a surprise attack on Hamas on Tuesday in Qatar, a key US partner.

Rubio will speak to Israeli leaders about "our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli strikes killed at least 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, local health authorities said, most of them in Gaza City where many residents are staying put despite Israeli evacuation orders because they have nowhere safe to go.

Israel has stated its intention to take full control of the ruined city, where about a million people are sheltering, as part of its plan to wipe out the militant group Hamas, and has been intensifying its attacks, residents said.

By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) has closed eight centres providing support to Afghan refugees forced back to the country because Taliban authorities are preventing female U.N. staff from entering them, an official said on Friday.

The United Nations says Pakistan is driving Afghan refugees back home against their will, warning that around 1 million people could be affected. In the first week of September alone, nearly 100,000 people crossed back, UNHCR data showed.

By Jarrett Renshaw

NEW YORK (Reuters) -President Donald Trump planned to meet the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, a White House official said, days after U.S. ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.

The official did not elaborate on the timing of the meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani or its agenda.