Netanyahu Rejects Genocide Claims at UN, Defends Strike on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a defiant address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, rejecting allegations of genocide in Gaza as what he called the biggest lie of the century. As he approached the podium, the hall erupted in a mix of cheers and boos, and scores of delegates walked out, leaving many visible seats empty.

Netanyahu repeatedly branded the departing delegates as moral cowards and urged any remaining ones to leave as well. He claimed that many leaders of the countries whose delegates walked out privately thank Israel for eliminating Iran's nuclear capabilities, arguing that in defending itself, Israel also defends many of those same nations.

Context and a Week of Accusations

Netanyahu's speech followed a week in which numerous world leaders accused Israel of genocide and war crimes in Gaza. Beforehand, the Palestinian Mission to the UN had urged member states to send as many staff as possible to the assembly hall and stage a collective walkout once the Israeli prime minister was announced, framing it as a message against complicity in genocide, war crimes and illegal occupation. Israel rejects these allegations.

During his remarks, Netanyahu used visual props, holding up a pager to recall the September 2024 operation in which Israel remotely detonated thousands of pagers distributed to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, wounding more than 3,000 people and killing 12, including two children. He also referenced the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people.

He thanked US President Donald Trump for decisive action against Iran and insisted Israel would keep winning because it has no other choice. The speech came during a shortened US trip overshadowed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's calls to arrest Netanyahu as a war criminal.

Netanyahu also downplayed settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, describing perpetrators as a handful of young delinquents while saying he would not tolerate vigilantism. He reiterated that no Palestinian state would be established while he remains Israel's leader.