Dozens of delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the rostrum, where he defended his military actions against Iran, dismissed allegations of war crimes, and clashed verbally with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Delegates Walk Out and Clash with Netanyahu at the United Nations
A mass walkout erupted inside the United Nations General Assembly hall as dozens of envoys from across the world left their seats in protest as the Israeli leader approached the podium. General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman repeatedly called for order in the hall while members of the Israeli delegation chanted Am Yisrael Chai
(the people of Israel live), according to on-the-ground reporting.
The protest followed a coordinated appeal from the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations, which had urged the 193 member states to pack the assembly hall and stage a collective departure. The mission stated the action would send a clear message that nations refused to be complicit in ongoing military campaigns and territorial occupation. Israel strongly rejects all allegations of war crimes, genocide, and illegal occupation.
“If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left the hall, please do so now.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
From the rostrum, Israel’s longest-serving leader characterized accusations of genocide in Gaza as the biggest lie of the century
and argued that military operations served to protect regional allies. He asserted that attacking Iran was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make
and claimed that multiple regional leaders privately thanked Israel for targeting Iranian nuclear capabilities.
Visual Aids, Historical Comparisons, and Attacks on Local Leadership
True to form during major international addresses, the Israeli prime minister brought visual props to the debate. He held up a pager to remind delegates of the September 17, 2024 operation that remotely detonated thousands of communication devices utilized by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, an incident that left 12 dead and over 3,000 wounded. He also invoked the October 7, 2023 assault led by Hamas, equating the scale of those casualties to a massive multiple of the September 11 attacks relative to the American population.
Turning his focus to domestic American politics, Netanyahu took direct aim at New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani over past threats of arrest and harsh criticism regarding the conflict. Mamdani had previously campaigned on a pledge to arrest the Israeli leader over alleged war crimes should he visit the city, though the mayor subsequently acknowledged he lacked the legal authority to take such action.
“Mr Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
Netanyahu further criticized European nations, singling out the United Kingdom and France by arguing that nations with extensive colonial histories had little standing to accuse Israel of territorial overreach. He also minimized West Bank settler violence by categorizing the incidents as the actions of a small group of delinquent youths.
Abbas Addresses Assembly via Video While Reconstruction Debates Continue
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was forced to address the international body through pre-recorded video messages from his office in Ramallah after the United States denied him and other senior officials entry visas for the second year. The 90-year-old leader told the assembly that Palestinians would not abandon their homeland or accept forced displacement.
“We will not leave our homeland. We will not accept displacement. And we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf.”
Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President
Meanwhile, broader diplomatic and financial tracks surrounding the territory remain contested. A Hamas spokesman stated that the militant group was fully prepared to implement a six-month reconstruction plan introduced by the international Board of Peace, though the group omitted any mention of disarmament terms required by Israel. A senior European Union official reported that international donors have raised only US$1.1 billion out of an estimated US$80.8 billion required from the United Nations, World Bank, and European Union to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
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