Walkout at UN as Netanyahu Rejects Gaza ‘Genocide’ Accusations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday delivered a defiant address at the United Nations General Assembly, dismissing accusations that Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza or deliberately starved civilians.

“Those who peddle the blood libels of genocide against Israel are no better than those who peddled the blood libels against Jews in the Middle Ages,” Netanyahu said to the delegates gathered in New York. He insisted that Israel was, in fact, providing aid to Gaza despite the ongoing conflict.

Netanyahu declared that Israel had “crushed the bulk” of Hamas’s “terror machine” and vowed that the Israeli military would complete its campaign “as fast as possible.” He also highlighted what he called a series of “strategic victories” achieved over the past year, including targeting Iran’s nuclear program and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

Walkout Meets Applause

The address, which opened Friday’s session of the annual General Assembly debate, drew a dramatic response from the floor as several delegations staged a walkout in protest before Netanyahu began speaking. Despite the walkout, the prime minister was met with loud applause and cheers from supporters seated in the gallery, creating a striking split in the room.

Delegates were called to order as Netanyahu began his remarks, which lasted several minutes and focused heavily on security threats facing Israel and his country’s determination to defeat them. He framed Israel’s military actions as both self-defense and a necessary step to ensure peace in the region, calling on the international community to support his country’s right to protect its citizens.

His speech comes as global criticism of Israel’s Gaza campaign continues to mount, with human rights groups and several UN member states accusing Israel of using disproportionate force and worsening a humanitarian crisis in the territory. Netanyahu’s rebuttal on the world stage sought to push back against those claims and reassert Israel’s narrative of military success and moral justification.