Netanyahu Defends Israel’s Military Campaigns as Delegates Walk Out

Dozens of delegates walked out of the U.N. General Assembly as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage Thursday to defend his country’s military campaigns in Gaza, Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East. He vowed to keep fighting and rejected accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left the hall, please do so now,” Netanyahu told those who remained. “We will continue to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice.”

Netanyahu’s speech followed sharp criticism of Israel from leaders who addressed the assembly earlier in the week. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking by video after being denied a U.S. entry visa, said Israeli actions in Gaza amounted to “killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war.” He said the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank threatened the Palestinian people’s existence on their homeland and jeopardized a two-state solution.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel “utterly horrific” but said the scale of Israel’s response was unjustified. “Far too many people have died — including so many children. Far too little aid is getting in, and it has gone on for far too long,” he said. Jordan’s King Abdullah called for sanctions, asset freezes, embargoes and diplomatic isolation against Israel.

Netanyahu disputed French President Emmanuel Macron’s assertion that Hamas had never struck in the West Bank. He called it a “grotesque absurdity” and cited a fatal attack Sunday that he said was carried out by a Hamas terrorist. Hamas praised that attack but did not claim responsibility, according to CBS News.

The Israeli leader also defended strikes against Iran, thanking U.S. President Donald Trump for his “bold leadership.” Referring to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes launched in February, Netanyahu said, “Israel and America acted together not only to protect ourselves, but to save civilisation.” Iran has denied secretly building a nuclear weapon, the BBC reported. It retaliated against the strikes with missile and drone attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting U.S. military bases.

Netanyahu directed part of his speech at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has called him a “war criminal.” Netanyahu accused the mayor of spreading lies about Jews and said many Jews no longer felt safe in the city. Mamdani’s office responded that Netanyahu had repeated “baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians.” Mamdani had previously said he wanted Netanyahu arrested under an International Criminal Court warrant, but later acknowledged he lacked the authority to detain him.

Police detained protesters in New York during Netanyahu’s visit. CBS News reported that nearly two dozen people were taken into custody; the BBC identified actress Susan Sarandon and actress Hannah Einbinder among those detained.

The BBC reported that about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack. More than 73,920 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s subsequent campaign, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, as cited by the BBC. Israel says its actions are justified as self-defense and denies committing genocide.