Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2026, as dozens of delegations walked out of the hall before and during his speech, leaving it largely empty [1][4][9]. Netanyahu branded the departing delegates "moral cowards" and challenged any others who shared their views to leave [1][2][11]. The walkout was urged by the Palestinian Mission to the UN, which messaged member nations to collectively exit, sending what it called "a clear message to Netanyahu and his government that no one is willing to aid, abet, or be complicit in its genocide and war crimes and illegal occupation" [34]. Delegations from Indonesia and Brazil were among those confirmed to have left the hall [43][44].

Netanyahu rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza as "the greatest lie of the century," stating that "Israel didn't commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide" and citing polio vaccinations and food aid as counter-evidence [6][20][35]. He described the Israeli military as "the most moral army in the world" [35] and dismissed West Bank settler violence as the work of "juvenile delinquents" [14][38].

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, addressing the assembly by prerecorded video after the United States denied him a visa, said a "war of genocide" was underway in Gaza and warned that Israeli settlement expansion threatened "the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland" [4][11][16]. The International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution stating that Israel's conduct meets the legal definition of genocide under the UN convention [4], and a UN commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza [26]. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described "a scale of killing and destruction unlike anything I have witnessed in all my years as Secretary-General" [35]. The Gaza Health Ministry reports more than 73,920 Palestinians killed and over 175,000 injured since October 2023 [25][26]. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israeli settlers of committing ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities [30], and Jordan's King Abdullah II said Israel was undertaking de facto annexation of the West Bank [33].

Netanyahu attacked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as "the antisemitic mayor of New York," saying many Jews no longer feel safe in the city since Mamdani's election [7][11][23]. Mamdani responded that Netanyahu "used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitise his genocide of Palestinians" and that "no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant" [2][5][29]. Mamdani, who does not support Hamas and condemns antisemitism, stated that criticism of Israeli policy is wrongly being conflated with antisemitism [17]. Jewish Voice for Peace Communications Director Sonya Meyerson-Knox said "solidarity with Palestinian freedom has never been greater" and called for the US to stop arming Israel [24], while Margo Hughes-Robinson of the New York Jewish Agenda told Netanyahu "you are not welcome here" at a progressive Jewish protest near the UN [7].

Netanyahu defended the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities as "one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make as Prime Minister," saying "if we hadn't done it, we'd all be dead" [20]. He called Iran a murderous dictatorship and predicted the Iranian leadership's fall [5][19]. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian countered that "the nuclear weapon is in Israel, but the inspectors are in Iran. Israel kills, but Iran is subject to sanctions" and said "it's America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not" [2][29]. Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah accused Iran of obstructing maritime navigation and closing the Strait of Hormuz in violation of international law [6][27].

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza [3][28]. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten told the General Assembly that "there can be only one response. To say: hands off the ICC" [6][27]. US President Donald Trump has urged countries to leave the ICC [6][27] and stated that Netanyahu would not be arrested on US soil [28]. The US State Department extended sanctions denying visas to PLO members and Palestinian Authority officials, citing "their failure to reform" [11]. French MEP Emma Fourreau criticized France for allowing Netanyahu's plane to use French airspace for a fifth time [31].

Israeli analysts and former officials framed the address as a domestic electoral performance ahead of Israel's October 27 election [2][24]. Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Ariel Cohen said "that speech should be given at an election rally in Israel" [2]. Mitvim President Nimrod Goren said Netanyahu entered the speech "with not one but both eyes focused firmly on the upcoming Israeli election" [24], and former Israeli consul general Alon Pinkas described it as "his way of being seen in Israel as standing up against the world" [24]. The Hostage Families Headquarters accused Netanyahu of trying to erase dead hostages and rewriting history, noting there are 48 hostages held in Gaza, not 20 [46]. Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said hearing the prime minister use her son's name was "like a punch in the stomach" [46].

Netanyahu attacked Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as "a tyrant" who hosts Hamas [11][33] and accused Qatari and Turkish media of waging an "eighth front" of disinformation [20]. Erdogan told the UNGA that Israel's actions reflect "a genocidal mindset and state terrorism," describing Gaza as "the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time" [2] and compared Netanyahu to Hitler, saying he must be stopped by a coalition of humanity [42]. Turkish Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said Netanyahu's remarks "cannot obscure his massacres, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza or the legal proceedings against him under international law" [2][4]. Qatar announced its categorical rejection of Netanyahu's statements [40]. Hamas denounced the speech as full of "scandalous lies" that contradict UN and independent international reports classifying Israel's actions in Gaza as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, applauded the walkout as evidence of Israel's international isolation, and called for Netanyahu to be tried before international justice [32].

More than 100 demonstrators were detained in New York during protests against Netanyahu's visit, including actors Susan Sarandon and Hannah Einbinder [7][16][19]. Netanyahu shortened his New York visit to a few hours after security warnings, with no meeting scheduled with Trump [28][31]. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the prime minister was right in his remarks against the genocide accusation [46], while Defense Minister Israel Katz said "there is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration," a plan described as ethnic cleansing [34].