Dozens of diplomats walked out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the UN General Assembly, in which he vowed to "finish the job" in Gaza and decried the recognition of a Palestinian state as "insane."
“Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7 is like giving al-Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11,” he said.
According to a tally by the Washington Post, more than 100 diplomats from more than 50 countries walked out as Netanyahu entered the hall.
Loudspeakers in Gaza
Netanyahu opened by recalling a map shown last year that, he said, traced an “axis of evil” from Iran “the axis that threatened the stability of the planet and my country.” He went on to assert a long list of Israeli actions: “We struck the Houthis even yesterday. We destroyed Hamas, we struck Hezbollah, you will remember the bombersm I think they got the message.
"Of course we control the situation in Syria and, above all, we dismantled Iran’s nuclear programme and its conventional arsenal,” he said, adding that he had ordered loudspeakers to be placed in the Gaza Strip so Gaza residents could hear his remarks.
He personally thanked US President Donald Trump “for committing to our fight and standing with us to save millions of lives,” while warning that vigilance must continue. “Iran must never again be in a position to enrich uranium from scratch. Sanctions must be reimposed; we must eliminate any possibility of a comeback. They are not finished yet. The core elements of Hamas, despite losses, remain today in Gaza City and we must finish what began on October 7 - and we will,” Netanyahu said.
He also noted that the pin on his lapel contains a QR code linking to a special video showing footage of Hamas' October 7 attack.
Genocide denial
Netanyahu slammed the decision by the numerous countries including France, UK and Australia to recognise the Palestinian state. “You didn’t do something right. You did something wrong, horribly wrong.”
“Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere."
The Prime Minister rejected accusations of carrying out a genocide, though a UN Commissio of Inquiry ruled Israel is carrying out a genocide and prosecutors from the international criminal court have condemned the offensive as a war crime.
"Israel has taken more measures than any army in history to protect civilians. If you want to see the steps we take, look at what we are doing now in Gaza City. We warn civilians by every means even as Hamas converts them into human shields. For Israel every human loss is a tragedy - for Hamas it is an opportunity."
Ultimatum to Hamas
Addressing the hostages, Netanyahu said he would speak “directly to the hostages who remain in Gaza - first in Hebrew and then in English from this podium - and they will hear me through the loudspeakers we have placed inside Gaza. I am Prime Minister Netanyahu: we have not forgotten you and we will never forget you. We will not rest until we bring you all back.”
To Hamas he sent a blunt ultimatum: “Drop your weapons. Surrender, free our people now” a message he said had just been sent to every cellphone in Gaza. “If you surrender you will live; if not, we will hunt you to the end. If that happens, the war in Gaza will end immediately.”