Benjamin Netanyahu Defends Gaza Military Action at UN Amid Walkouts and Protests

Benjamin Netanyahu launched an incendiary attack against Israel’s critics at the United Nations on Thursday as he defended his military action in Gaza.

Dozens of delegates walked out of the address as the Israeli leader branded those departing “moral cowards”.

He claimed that Israel’s war in Gaza is not a genocide and is in fact “the opposite of genocide”. The country faces allegations of genocide in a pending case at the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa.

“Israel didn’t commit genocide; Israel prevented genocide”, he said dismissing the allegations as the “biggest lie of the century”.

The wide-ranging speech focused on New York mayor Zohran Mamdani throughout after Mamdani labelled Netanyahu a war criminal and called for the US to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Netanyahu called Mamdani the “antisemitic mayor of New York” and upon his arrival the controversial politician falsely accused the mayor of supporting Hamas.

“You tried to stop me from coming here. You tried. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth,” Netanyahu said.

He went on to condemn Western governments for capitulating to “antisemitic mobs”, called Turkish leader Recep Tayyp Erdogan a tyrant who “hosts Hamas terrorists” and accused Qatar of disseminating falsehoods about Israel.

Lavishing praise on President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Israel has had “no greater partner” in the “battle against the barbarians”.

Netanyahu faces international isolation at the same time as he fights for survival in the forthcoming elections in Israel.

Facing a national vote in less than five weeks, the 40-minute campaign-orientated address was broadcast live during prime time across all four major Israeli television networks.

A statement from the prime minister’s office said that 500 pro-Israel and anti-Iran billboards had been funded across Manhattan to coincide with Netanyahu’s appearance.

Trailing in domestic opinion polls, the country’s longest-serving prime minister framed the current military conflicts as a seven-front struggle for national survival.

The trip also marked Netanyahu’s first visit to New York since Mamdani assumed office in January, with the Israeli leader firmly denying all war crimes allegations.

Earlier this week Mamdani doubled down on his characterisation of Netanyahu as “the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians”.

The New York mayor had pledged to arrest the Israeli leader who he said “belongs in the Hague”, if he entered New York but later acknowledged that he lacked the statutory power to do so and urged the federal government to take action.

Trump intervened and said that Netanyahu will never be arrested on US soil. He later went on to threaten US sanctions on the International Criminal Court, which had issued the warrant.

In September 2025, an independent UN inquiry concluded that Israel had committed genocide, which Israel has vehemently rejected.

The International Association of Genocide Scholars has said that Israel’s actions meet the legal definition of the crime of genocide and several prominent human rights bodies including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and others.

Israel has dubbed claims of genocide “antisemitic” and denies it has committed war crimes throughout its campaign.

Netanyahu has previously used visual aids during UN appearances including charts and diagram. On Thursday, he displayed a pager, referencing recent covert operations against Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, alongside a Starlink satellite internet receiver intended for the Iranian delegation.

“So when they inevitably defect, they too will be able to freely tell their story on social media.”

Demonstrations against Israel took place on the streets of New York outside the meeting with dozens of arrests made after protesters blocked traffic and chanted “Stop arming Israel, let Gaza live”.

In November 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu accusing him of being “responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population” in Gaza.

He is also accused of “crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.” Netanyahu denies the claims and has called them “antisemitic”.