Dozens of United Nations delegates walked out of the General Assembly on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, in a protest over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its wider regional actions.
The departing delegates were seen leaving the chamber before Netanyahu started speaking, while Israeli supporters in the hall stood and applauded the prime minister.
Netanyahu condemned the protesters as “moral cowards” and used his speech to reject allegations of genocide against Israel while defending the country’s military operations in Gaza, Iran and other parts of the Middle East.
He highlighted what he described as Israeli efforts to protect Palestinian civilians and accused Hamas of using civilians as “human shields”.
Netanyahu described allegations of genocide in Gaza as “the greatest lie of the century” and defended joint US-Israeli military action against Iran, saying Israel would face a grave threat without the operations.
The Israeli prime minister also criticised Turkey, describing it as a “super spreader of anti-Semitic lies”, and accused several countries of spending billions of dollars to spread what he called false information about Israel through social media.
He also attacked New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his description of Netanyahu as a war criminal and accused the mayor of attempting to prevent his visit.
“You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli leader further criticised Western European leaders, accusing them of yielding to what he called “antisemitic mobs”. He also accused Qatar and Turkey of spreading false claims about Israel.
The walkout highlighted the growing international divisions over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the pressure facing Netanyahu amid criticism of Israel’s conduct of the conflict.
The Israeli government has consistently rejected allegations of genocide and war crimes, while maintaining that its military operations are aimed at Hamas and other armed groups.
The speech came as Netanyahu faces political pressure at home ahead of Israel’s October 27 election and continues to defend himself in a long-running corruption trial.
He is also the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Netanyahu and Israeli authorities have rejected the allegations and challenged the court’s jurisdiction.
