Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a combative address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday to defend Israel’s conduct in Gaza and strikes on Iran, reject genocide allegations as “the greatest lie of the century” and lash out at foreign leaders, protesters and critics he accused of hypocrisy toward Israel.
Netanyahu said the strikes against Iran's nuclear program were necessary for Israel’s survival and accused foreign leaders who criticize Israel publicly of privately thanking it for acting against Tehran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN General Assembly
(Video: UN WEB TV)
Returning to his famous 2012 UN presentation, in which he used a cartoon-like bomb diagram to illustrate Iran’s nuclear progress, Netanyahu recalled drawing a red line over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Fourteen years ago, I stood on this podium and I drew a red line,” Netanyahu said. “I vowed to prevent Iran’s murderous dictatorship from developing atomic bombs.”
Netanyahu said the decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities was among the clearest he had faced during his years in office.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard. It was very hard to do,” he said. “But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as prime minister. Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead.”
The prime minister argued that Israel’s military actions had protected not only Israelis but other countries, including some whose representatives left the General Assembly chamber during his address.
“In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,” Netanyahu said.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the UN General Assembly
(Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
He then accused those governments of hypocrisy, claiming some of their leaders had privately expressed gratitude for Israel’s actions against Iran.
“Many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes,” Netanyahu said. “It’s hard to imagine more mind-blowing hypocrisy, but that’s exactly what it is.”
Netanyahu also turned to Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, using the biblical name Judea for the territory.
“They try to murder our people in our historic homeland in Judea,” Netanyahu said. “By the way, that’s where the word ‘Jew’ comes from — Judea. That’s our land.”
He said there are thousands of attacks each year targeting Israeli families traveling on West Bank roads.
“They shoot at pregnant women. They shoot entire families,” he said, accusing international media and social media platforms of largely ignoring such attacks. “None of it is covered in the international press or on social media. None of it.”
(Photo: Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Netanyahu also addressed settler violence in the West Bank, describing those responsible as a small group of about 150 young offenders and saying Israel would not tolerate vigilantism.
“A handful of young juvenile delinquents, about 150 in number, go and throw stones, chop down olive trees and occasionally set fires,” Netanyahu said. “I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism. We’re a country of law, so we put our Shin Bet on them.”
The prime minister rejected international criticism of settler violence, arguing that such incidents were disproportionately emphasized compared with Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank.
“The number of casualties a year is maybe two or three,” Netanyahu said. “Compare that with the thousands of terrorist attacks against peaceful settlers — honorable, law-abiding people. What a distortion. It’s an obsession.”
He also criticized foreign leaders who have raised the issue.
“Leaders of countries seriously talk about this, and they say with such importance, ‘We can’t stand settler violence.’ You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
Netanyahu directly addressed French President Emmanuel Macron, citing two recent Palestinian attacks in the West Bank. Macron had triggered a dispute with Israel over comments about Hamas during his address to the UN General Assembly, appearing to claim that the terrorist group had never operated there.
“I say this to my colleague Emmanuel Macron: Three days ago, a French citizen, Netanel Shukrun, a father of six, was gunned down when he visited a spring with his 16-year-old son,” Netanyahu said. “A Hamas terrorist in Judea and Samaria came and fired at him point-blank. His last words were, ‘Flee, flee, son. Save yourself.’”
Macron's remarks drew an angry Israeli response. A French diplomatic source later said the remarks had been mistranslated and that Macron meant Hamas had never governed the territory.
Netanyahu then cited the attack on Neriya Leiter, who was seriously wounded Wednesday in a Palestinian car-ramming attack near the Maccabim checkpoint in the West Bank. Leiter, a member of a police patrol crew, is the son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter. His brother, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, was killed fighting in Gaza during the war.
“Two days ago, in Judea and Samaria, a reserve soldier, Neriya Leiter, was mowed down by a Palestinian terrorist,” he said. “He’s fighting for his life now in a Jerusalem hospital.”
The premier vowed to continue defending Israel.
“Israel is like no other country. It's a privilege to defend it. To Neriya and to all the heroes of Israel, I pledge a sacred vow: Your sacrifice will not be in vain,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue to defend our state. We will continue to win because we have no other choice.”
Netanyahu praised the IDF as “the most moral army in the world,” citing the scale of missile attacks Israel has faced and the diversity of those serving in its military.
“You can imagine, think about 1,000 gigantic missiles falling from the skies on your cities, on your homes,” Netanyahu said. “I salute the courage of the people of Israel. I salute the courage of the people of Israel. I salute the courage of our brave soldiers, Jews, Christians, Jews, Muslim, the most moral army in the world, the IDF.”
Netanyahu then launched a sharply worded attack on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing Turkey of spreading antisemitism and criticizing Erdogan’s domestic and regional policies.
“The latest country to become a superspreader of antisemitic lies is Turkey,” Netanyahu said. “Erdogan is a tyrant. He also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs. He has murdered thousands of Kurdish civilians. He denies the Armenian genocide. He jails journalists and opposition leaders.”
The prime minister went on to accuse Turkey of expansionism, pointing to its presence in northern Cyprus and tensions with Greece and Syria.
“I think he holds the world record on this, and that’s a tough call. But I think he’s number one,” Netanyahu said, referring to the jailing of journalists and political opponents. “He illegally occupies northern Cyprus, an EU member, and he regularly transgresses against Greece, a NATO member. Now he wants to take over Syria. Well, that’s not surprising.”
Netanyahu also targeted Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of using its financial influence over universities and media organizations to foster hostility toward Israel and the West.
“Decades ago, it started massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets like Al Jazeera,” Netanyahu said. “They did the same in Europe, by the way. And their goal was clear: brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, hate the West. This is the same Qatar that hosts the Hamas butchers of October 7.”
Netanyahu defended Israel’s conduct in Gaza, saying Hamas had deliberately endangered Palestinian civilians while Israel had sought to move them out of harm’s way.
“It will take time for the world to acknowledge what is so plain to see: that Hamas used Palestinian civilians as human shields, that it used hospitals, schools and mosques as terrorist command posts, that it sold much of the food we let into Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “While Hamas did everything possible to keep Palestinian civilians in harm’s way, often at gunpoint, Israel did everything possible to get them out of harm’s way.”
Netanyahu went further, claiming Israel’s efforts to limit civilian casualties were unprecedented in modern warfare.
“Israel has done more to prevent civilian casualties in war than any other military in history,” he said.
Netanyahu flatly rejected allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, turning the accusation on Israel’s enemies.
“Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” Netanyahu said.
He called the allegation “the greatest lie of the century” and invoked retired U.S. Army Col. John Spencer, who has publicly defended Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
“Accusing Israel of genocide is the greatest lie of the century,” Netanyahu said. “If you want to know how big a lie, if you want to know how absurd it is, listen to Col. John Spencer.”
Netanyahu also singled out political commentator and streamer Hasan Piker while criticizing figures he accused of sympathizing with Hamas and anti-Israel causes.
“You praise criminals convicted of supporting Hamas,” Netanyahu said. “You count as friends people like Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11.”
Turning again to Iran, Netanyahu held up a Starlink satellite internet terminal, saying he would leave it with the president of the General Assembly to give to the Iranian delegation. He portrayed the device as a symbol of free expression in the face of Iranian government censorship.
“This is a communications device, Starlink, that allows people to access truth, to exercise choice, to exercise freedom of thought and freedom of speech,” Netanyahu said. “I’m going to leave this device with you so you can give it to the Iranian delegation. So when they inevitably defect, they too can share their story.”
Netanyahu also directly attacked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of hostility toward Israel and attempting to prevent the prime minister from visiting the city.
“Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me,” Netanyahu said. “Well, you can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth.”
Mamdani has called Netanyahu a war criminal and the “architect of the genocide in Gaza,” allegations Netanyahu rejects, and has called for his arrest under the International Criminal Court warrant issued against him in 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The United States is not a member of the ICC, and Israel rejects both the court’s jurisdiction and the allegations against Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has accused Mamdani of hosting a Palestinian journalist who, he said, had filmed Hamas terrorists abusing Israeli hostages but withheld the footage to protect them. He also accused Mamdani’s wife of liking social media posts praising the Oct. 7 massacre and saying Tel Aviv should not exist, and criticized Mamdani for repeatedly accusing Israel of genocide.
Netanyahu concluded his remarks on Iran by predicting that its government would ultimately be overcome by its own people.
“Despite your silence, despite your hypocrisy, it’s only a matter of time before something incredible happens in Iran,” Netanyahu said. “The power of the people will overcome the people in power.”
Addressing Iranians directly, he added: “One day — and it may not be far away — the Iranian people will be free.”
Netanyahu also challenged protesters outside the UN and delegates who walked out of the chamber, accusing them of remaining silent over Iran’s crackdown on its own citizens.
Delegates walk out of the United Nations General Assembly chamber ahead of Netanyahu's speech
(Video: UN WEB TV)
“To the protesters outside, to the hypocritical delegates who left this hall, I ask: Where were you when the Iranian tyrants butchered and maimed tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian civilians?” Netanyahu said. “When they butchered and maimed thousands of their own people, where were you?”
Netanyahu also predicted the eventual collapse of Iran’s government, directly addressing the Iranian people and portraying its downfall as inevitable.
“I want you to listen to my words carefully. One day — and it may not be far away — the Iranian people will be free,” Netanyahu said. “Their murderous regime will be toppled by its lies, by its corruption, by its cruelty. This evil regime will fall, and we will all celebrate that day.”
Netanyahu also recalled Israel’s September 2024 pager operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, in which thousands of pagers used by members of the Iran-backed group exploded almost simultaneously. A second wave of explosions involving booby-trapped walkie-talkies followed the next day.
“Hezbollah — you remember the beepers? Remember these things? Remember them?” Netanyahu said. “Well, I can tell you this: Hezbollah certainly remembers them.”
Netanyahu then pointed to Israel’s broader campaign against Hezbollah, which he said had destroyed the bulk of the terrorist group’s once-formidable rocket arsenal.
“Guess what happened to the bulk of Hezbollah’s vast arsenal of 150,000 rockets?” he said.
Netanyahu holds up a pager during his UN General Assembly address
(Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
Netanyahu has previously put Hezbollah’s prewar arsenal at roughly 150,000 missiles and rockets and said in June that only about 8% remained following Israel’s military campaign, though that figure is an Israeli assessment.
Netanyahu's visit was scheduled to be unusually brief and was expected to last only several hours. His schedule is markedly thinner than during previous trips to the annual gathering, with no meeting planned with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Before leaving Israel, Netanyahu signaled that his speech would be confrontational.
“You hear the terrible lies being spread there; I will fight for the truth,” he said, adding that there would be “surprises.”
A senior Israeli official had said ahead of the speech that footage involving National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Jewish extremist violence in the West Bank had badly damaged Israel’s international standing. The official said there was a perception abroad that Netanyahu had lost control of events and was allowing far-right ministers to act without restraint.
The speech comes at the end of several days in which Israel has repeatedly been the subject of criticism from the General Assembly podium, including from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Macron.
Israel rejects allegations that it has committed genocide in Gaza and says its military operations have targeted Hamas and other terrorist groups. It has also accused critics of minimizing the security threats it faces and, in some cases, ignoring Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
Guterres warns over Gaza and West Bank
Guterres, delivering his final General Assembly address before his term ends Dec. 31, condemned Hamas' Oct. 7 attack while sharply criticizing the scale of Israel's military response in Gaza.
He described the Hamas assault as “abhorrent” but said the ensuing Gaza war had brought a scale of death and destruction he had not witnessed during his years as secretary-general. He also warned that violence, Palestinian displacement and settlement expansion in the West Bank were eroding prospects for a two-state solution.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
(Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Guterres renewed his support for two states and called for international law to be upheld consistently, part of a broader address in which he warned that global institutions were struggling under the weight of wars, geopolitical divisions and declining trust.
Erdogan delivered one of the most forceful attacks on Israel, urging countries to increase pressure on Jerusalem over Gaza and calling on governments that have not recognized a Palestinian state to reconsider.
The Turkish president condemned the humanitarian situation in Gaza and accused the international community of failing to stop it. Turkey has repeatedly characterized Israel's campaign as genocide, an allegation Israel rejects.
Jordan's King Abdullah II also focused heavily on Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, accusing the Israeli government of policies aimed at changing realities on the ground and making a viable Palestinian state impossible. He pointed to settlement expansion, land seizures and settler violence in the West Bank while describing destruction in Gaza as part of a broader threat to Palestinian statehood.
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, accused Israel of “genocide in the fullest sense of the word” in Gaza and criticized Israeli policy in the West Bank and elsewhere in the region.
Macron said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was a “spectacle that shames us all” and criticized increasing settler violence in the West Bank, arguing that it was undermining Palestinian rights and prospects for a two-state solution.
The criticism has not been limited to Middle Eastern leaders. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused Israel of genocide and warned of lasting trauma among Palestinians, while British Prime Minister Andy Burnham condemned Hamas' Oct. 7 attack and affirmed Britain's support for Israel's security but also criticized Israeli government policy in Gaza and the West Bank.
Abbas: Israel ‘destroying’ two-state solution
Hours before Netanyahu's scheduled appearance, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas addressed the General Assembly by video after the United States denied him a visa to travel to New York for the second consecutive year.
The General Assembly voted 152-3, with four abstentions, to allow Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials to participate remotely in UN meetings when U.S. visa restrictions prevent them from attending. Washington has cited Palestinian efforts to pursue Israel in international tribunals and what it describes as attempts to “internationalize” the conflict among its reasons for the restrictions.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas addresses the General Assembly by video
(Photo: AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Abbas accused Israel of waging a “genocidal war” in Gaza, seeking to forcibly displace Palestinians and protecting what he called “settler terrorism” in the West Bank.
He also argued that Israeli policy was destroying prospects for a two-state solution and warned against another Nakba — the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” used by Palestinians for the mass displacement surrounding Israel's establishment and the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Abbas also called on the international community to stop supplying weapons to Israel.
Israel rejects Abbas' accusations and maintains that its military campaign was launched in response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
Iran takes center stage
Despite the focus on Gaza and the Palestinians throughout the General Assembly, Netanyahu devoted a substantial portion of his speech to Iran.
Trump used his own General Assembly address Tuesday to issue a stark warning to Tehran, saying the United States could “annihilate” Iran if a peace agreement was not reached while also saying he believed a deal remained possible after the November U.S. midterm elections.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks as he holds a picture of Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of Iran, during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on September 23, 2026
(Photo: AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, used his appearance at the gathering to criticize U.S. policy and question Washington's commitment to diplomacy. The continuing U.S.-Iran confrontation has been one of the dominant Middle East issues surrounding this year's General Assembly.
Lightning visit, no Trump meeting
The political backdrop to Netanyahu's speech is unusual in another respect: The prime minister is making one of his shortest U.S. visits in years.
He was expected to spend only about six hours in the United States, landing at a military airfield, traveling to Manhattan for the General Assembly and returning to the airport after his address.
Netanyahu was accompanied by his wife, Sara. Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman and Education Minister Yoav Kisch were also at the UN in connection with their ministerial duties and were expected to attend his address.
Netanyahu, who typically releases a video before departing Israel, kept an unusually low profile ahead of the trip. The first footage released by his office showed his arrival at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, outside New York City.
Netanyahu and his wife Sara arrive at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York
(Video: GPO)
Netanyahu and his wife Sara arrive at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York
(Photo: GPO)
Netanyahu will not meet Trump during the trip. Their schedules do not overlap, with Trump having left New York after his own UN appearances. Netanyahu is also not expected to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu's planned meetings include leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, Ethiopia, Colombia, Greece, Slovenia and Papua New Guinea, although the compressed timetable leaves little room for the extensive bilateral diplomacy that traditionally accompanies his General Assembly appearances.
Earlier plans for the trip were considerably broader. Netanyahu had been considering traveling to Texas for a possible meeting with Elon Musk and a visit connected to SpaceX, but the stop was canceled. The proposed Texas stop reportedly encountered logistical difficulties involving the U.S. Secret Service and would also have required an additional refueling stop in the United States.
Israeli officials had also explored meetings with Gulf leaders, but none had been finalized as the visit approached.
Netanyahu’s office said numerous foreign leaders had requested meetings with Netanyahu but that the tight schedule and his need to return to Israel before the start of Sukkot meant he could accommodate only some of them. Media reports, however, cited additional concerns, including security considerations and anticipated protests against the prime minister.
Netanyahu ultimately opted for such a brief visit that he was not expected to stay at the Loews Regency, his usual Manhattan hotel. Israel had already reserved three floors there, however, potentially leaving the government with a substantial bill. Finance Ministry officials were expected to negotiate with the hotel for a credit toward a future stay, though it was unclear whether the hotel would agree.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Netanyahu meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly
(Video: GPO)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Netanyahu meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly
(Photo: GPO)
Before his UN address, Netanyahu met Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu stressed the importance of the countries’ strategic partnership for regional stability and welcomed Greece’s selection of Israeli defense systems. The two also discussed regional developments, energy cooperation and plans for another trilateral summit with Cyprus.
Netanyahu also met Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša. His office said Netanyahu welcomed the opening of Israel’s embassy in Ljubljana and thanked Janša for his strong support for Israel and a resulting shift in bilateral relations. The two discussed expanding cooperation, and Netanyahu invited Janša to visit Israel.
Protests and another possible walkout
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested in New York ahead of Netanyahu’s appearance, while Israeli anti-government activists and supporters of Israel also held rallies. Security was tightened around the UN complex as world leaders gathered for the General Assembly.
Several protesters were arrested shortly before Netanyahu’s speech, including Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon, “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon and activist Linda Sarsour, an adviser to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who was recently denied entry to Israel.
Anti-Israel protesters gather outside the UN headquarters ahead of Netanyahu's speech
(Video: from social media)
Israeli officials were also concerned that Mamdani’s administration could create logistical difficulties for the delegation, including potentially requiring Netanyahu’s official Wing of Zion aircraft to leave a New York airport after dropping him off rather than remain there until his return from the UN.
Attention will also be focused on the General Assembly hall itself. Delegates staged a large walkout when Netanyahu addressed the gathering last year, and Israeli officials expect another hostile reception this time. Israeli officials later said 77 delegations were either absent from the hall or walked out at the start of Netanyahu’s address.