Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the war in Gaza, amid global pressure to end the ongoing offensive in the enclave.
As he began his speech, dozens of UN delegates walked out of the room in protest.
A total of 157 out of 193 UN nations currently recognize the Palestinian state. Two UN Security Council members, France and the UK, joined ten other members this week to recognize Palestine, ratcheting up pressure on the Israeli PM.
Netanyahu dubbed the wave of recognitions as “shameful, sheer madness, and insane.”
“What you’re doing is giving the ultimate reward to intolerant fanatics who perpetrated and supported the Sabbath massacre. 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 claimed.
Netanyahu vowed to “finish the job” of eliminating Hamas militias in Gaza, also referring to a QR code on his jacket that links to the October 7 atrocities website.
A UN commission of inquiry ruled last week that Israel is “responsible for genocide in Gaza,” citing killings, serious physical and mental harm, the deliberate imposition of life-threatening conditions, and measures aimed at preventing births.
Over 68,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the Israeli operation in Gaza, which was launched in response to a deadly incursion by Hamas into the Jewish state on October 2023.
Netanyahu has denied the accusations of genocide and slammed the countries that recognized Palestine, saying that they were “handing a huge reward to terror.”
26 September 2025
Netanyahu has claimed that the long suffering Iranian people will make Iran great again and “our two ancient peoples will restore a friendship that will benefit the entire world.”
Our beloved homeland for over 3,000 years, the dream of having an army to defend ourselves and the dream of being a light onto the nations a beacon of progress and ingenuity for all of humanity. On October 7 the enemies of Israel tried to extinguish that light. Two years later the resolve and strength of Israel burns brighter than ever.
"With God's help that strength and that resolve will lead us to a speedy victory and brighter future of prosperity and peace," he added.
“Last month even the UN admitted that Hamas looted 85% of the aid trucks, thats why you have deprivation,” Netanyahu has claimed.
“Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium must be eliminated and UN Security Council restrictions on Iran must be snapped back,” Netanyahu has said.
Netanyahu instructed the IDF to hook up loudspeakers throughout Gaza so that his speech to the UN General Assembly would be broadcast live to its residents.
Thanks to Israeli intelligence my words are being streamed live to Gaza. So to Hamas leaders I say lay down your arms. Let my people go. Free the hostages now! If you do you will love, if you don’t Israel will hunt you down. If Hamas agrees to our demands the war could end right now. Gaza would be demilitarized. Israel would retain over-riding security control
According to Channel 12, the army voiced opposition to the order as it would “require soldiers to leave their posts and enter areas of the Gaza Strip that put them at increased risk of being targeted by Hamas operatives.”
Reporters for the New York Times, however, said that none of the people living in the Palestinian enclave have so far heard Netanyahu’s speech.
Commenting on Israel’s relations with Syria, Netanyahu expressed belief that “an agreement can be reached that respects Syria’s sovereignty and the minorities in the region, including the Druze minority.”
“Jews and Druze have been brothers in arms, we fought together, bled together, we built our lives together,” he stated.
In December 2024, longtime Syrian President Bashar Assad was deposed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other armed groups. Since then, Israeli forces have moved deeper into Syrian territory, while also repeatedly carrying out strikes against targets inside the country.
Netanyahu has rejected criticism of Israel, saying that “these anti-Semitic lies have consequences.”
“In recent months, Jews have been assaulted in Britain, Australia, France, the Netherlands and elsewhere,” he said, citing the murder of a couple who worked in the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
The Israeli PM’s speech at the UN General Assembly has ended, but RT will continue to provide highlights from his address.
Netanyahu has finished his speech to applause from those remaining in the assembly.
Netanyahu has claimed that the charges of genocide being levied against Israel over its military operation in the Gaza strip are “false.”
“Israel is accused of deliberately targeting civilians. Ladies and gentlemen, the opposite is true,” he said.
The PM insisted that Israel applies protective measures in the Palestinian enclave and asks “the people nicely to leave.” He claimed that there is a two-to-one combatant to civilian death rate in Gaza, despite the UN saying that most of those killed are civilians, mainly women and children.
Netanyahu has accused some global leaders of “buck[ling] under the pressure of a biased media, radical Islamist constituencies, and anti-Semitic Imams” by recognizing Palestinian statehood.
“For many countries here, when the going got tough, you caved,” he claimed. “And here’s the result, for much of the last two years Israel has had to fight a seven-front war against barbarism and you oppose us… I say to the reps of those nations, this is not an indictment of Israel, it’s an indictment of you… you can’t appease your way out of Jihad.”
The Israeli PM has claimed that “behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us, thank us.”
“Our enemies hate all of us with equal venom. They want to drag the modern world back to the past, to an age of violence and terror. You know deep down that Israel is fighting your fight,” Netanyahu stated.
Netanyahu addressed the leaders of Hamas from the UN stage, urging them to “lay down” their arms.
“Let my people go. Free the hostages now. If you do you will live, if you don’t Israel will hunt you down. If Hamas agrees to our demands the war could end right now. Gaza would be demilitarized. Israel would retain overriding security control,” he said.
Netanyahu repeated his claims that Palestinian armed group Hamas had “beheaded men. They raped women. They burned babies alive in front of their parents.”
“Who takes grandmothers hostage. Hamas does,” he said.
The PM also read out the names of the remaining 20 Israeli hostages in Gaza, who are still believed to be alive.
The Israeli PM revealed the meaning of a badge with a QR-code that he had been wearing on his jacket lapel. It will take users to a web page that will explain “why we fight and why we must win,” he said.
The website details the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage.
Speaking about the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu has claimed that “Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning comebacks in history.”
“We are not done yet. The final remnants of Hamas are holed up in Gaza City. They vow to repeat the atrocities of October 7 [2023] again and again and again. That is why we want to finish the job as fast as possible.”
Netanyahu has thanked US President Donald Trump for his “bold and decisive action” during Israel’s conflict with Iran in June.
“Israel’s 12-day war will go down in military history. Our daring pilots and American B-2 pilots bombed Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites,” he said.
As soon as Netanyahu got on stage, what appears to be a majority of the UNGA delegates walked out of the hall in protest. Many of those who opted to remain applauded those leaving.
Flight data shows the Israeli PM took a circuitous route to New York, recognising the risk of his plane being potentially ordered to land while in Spainish airpsace. He has neverthless arrived in New York and is expected to begin his speech shortly.