Netanyahu faces mass walkout, blasts UN delegates as ‘moral cowards’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a mass walkout by diplomats as he began his address at the United Nations General Assembly, with several delegates leaving the chamber in protest.

SaharaReporters reports that Netanyahu responded by calling those who remained “moral” and accusing departing delegates of “mind-blowing hypocrisy” over Israel’s actions against Iran and Gaza.

Netanyahu defended Israel’s military operations, dismissed genocide allegations as “the greatest lie of the century” and criticised New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has previously called him a “war criminal”. He also displayed a Starlink device while discussing internet restrictions in Iran. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the assembly through a pre-recorded video after the United States denied visas to Palestinian officials. Abbas accused Israel of waging a “genocidal war” in Gaza and urged the international community to act.