In New York, at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, tension filled the hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium. Dozens of delegates walked out as soon as his speech began, while others responded with applause and shouts of protest. As a result, a large part of the hall emptied out. According to the Associated Press, the Palestinian mission to the UN had called on member state representatives to collectively leave the hall when Netanyahu took the stage.
Netanyahu responded sharply to the departing delegates:
"If there are any moral cowards who haven't left the hall yet, please do so now."
Continuing his speech, Netanyahu defended the actions of the Israeli army and, holding up a pager from the podium, recalled the operation against Hezbollah.
"Israel struck Hamas, struck Hezbollah. Remember the pagers?" he said from the podium.
Netanyahu said Hezbollah had planned to defeat Israel, but this was prevented by the army's actions and support from allies. On September 17, 2024, communication devices belonging to Hezbollah members, including pagers and radios, exploded across various parts of Lebanon. The operation killed 32 people and wounded more than 3,000. In his UN address, the Israeli prime minister also defended military campaigns in Iran, Gaza, and other parts of the Middle East.
"We will win. We have no other choice," he said.
Netanyahu also rejected accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. His remarks came just hours after an address to the UN by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas said Israeli policy — particularly the illegal expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank — threatens the Palestinian people's life and existence in their own homeland. He said Israeli forces were subjecting Palestinians in Gaza to "killing, destruction, starvation, attempts at forced displacement, and a war of genocide."
The Palestinian leader addressed the annual gathering via video link after being denied a U.S. entry visa. Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on an arrest warrant, spoke sharply against states and leaders who have criticized him.
"They're accusing Israel — tiny Israel — of colonialism. Who's telling us this? Britain and France, among others. They invented that word! Their colonies once spanned the entire world," he said.
He also accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of supporting Hamas, calling him a "tyrant." Turkey's presidential communications director Burhanettin Altun responded sharply to the accusation.
"The Israeli prime minister's use of the UN podium to level baseless accusations against Turkey and Erdoğan does not align with the ideals of peace, law, and dialogue that the UN stands for," he said.
