Dozens of delegates walked out of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, in a coordinated protest against Israel’s war in Gaza.
As Mr Netanyahu approached the rostrum at the 81st session of the General Assembly in New York, delegations from nearly 70 countries left their seats, according to footage reviewed by several news agencies. The Palestinian mission had urged member states to stage a collective walkout.
Countries whose diplomats joined the protest included Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Iran, Algeria, Tunisia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Spain and Brazil among others. Some left a single junior diplomat behind.
“If there are any other moral cowards who have not yet left this hall, please do so now,” Mr Netanyahu said as the chamber emptied. Supporters in the public gallery chanted “Am Yisrael Chai” – “the people of Israel live” – while General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman called for order.
The Israeli leader used his speech to mount a forceful defence of Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, amid growing international isolation.
He rejected allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza as “the greatest lie of the century,” saying “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”
A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel rejects.
Mr Netanyahu accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as “human shields” and said Israel had taken steps to protect them. Gaza health authorities say more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
He also defended joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year, calling the decision to attack Iran “one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” and said Israel was defending many of the countries whose delegates had walked out.
The prime minister singled out Turkey and Qatar as “super spreaders” of anti-Semitic lies, accused several Western European leaders of succumbing to “anti-Semitic mobs,” and attacked New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has called Mr Netanyahu a war criminal and, during his mayoral campaign, said he would seek to have him arrested.
“You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth,” Mr Netanyahu said.
The walkout came hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing the assembly by pre-recorded video after being denied a US visa, said Palestinians in Gaza were facing “a war of genocide” and that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank threatened the very existence of the Palestinian people.
It is the second year in a row that Mr Netanyahu’s UNGA address has triggered a mass walkout.
At home, the prime minister is campaigning for re-election ahead of a snap vote on 27 October, while facing a long-running corruption trial. He is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which accuses him of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
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