Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has instructed the IDF to broadcast his speech to the United Nations General Assembly directly into the Gaza Strip using loudspeakers, Ynet learned on Friday.
According to the daily Haaretz, the order calls for truck-mounted speaker systems and amplification equipment to be placed near the border so that Palestinians in Gaza can hear Netanyahu’s remarks, scheduled for 4 p.m. local time. A military official told the paper the effort was intended as a form of “psychological warfare.”
The IDF declined to comment publicly on the reported plan, referring questions to Netanyahu’s office. Security officials have raised concerns about the risks of deploying such equipment near the border, according to the report.
Netanyahu’s address in New York was already expected to be contentious. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said the Palestinian delegation, joined by others, planned to stage a walkout during the prime minister’s speech. Outside the venue, relatives of hostages held in Gaza were expected to hold a demonstration, demanding an agreement to end the war and secure the captives’ release.
The Israeli leader’s speech is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. New York time (4 p.m. in Israel), with the prime minister opening the day’s session at the General Assembly. Israeli officials said there was concern that Arab delegations might boycott the address or stage disruptions inside the hall. UN rules ban the display of placards during speeches, and violators can face removal — as happened in 2023, when Israel’s then-ambassador Gilad Erdan held up a protest sign during a speech by Iran’s then-president Ebrahim Raisi.
As in past years, Netanyahu has invited close allies and prominent Jewish leaders to sit in the hall and cheer him on, a move intended to counter any protests or jeers.
The prime minister’s remarks are expected to serve three main purposes. First, to reassure his domestic base in Israel. Netanyahu is preparing a fiery Zionist speech that will attack French President Emmanuel Macron and the many countries that have recently recognized Palestinian statehood. His message, aides said, will be: “You are rewarding terror and rewarding Hamas, which continues to hold 48 of our hostages.” Before departing for New York, Netanyahu previewed the line in a statement: “The shameful surrender of some leaders to Palestinian terror will not obligate Israel in any way. There will be no Palestinian state.”
Second, Netanyahu intends to send a signal to U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of their White House meeting scheduled for Monday. He is expected to outline Israel’s conditions for an end to the Gaza war and for a postwar arrangement: the release of all hostages and the dismantling of Hamas. Netanyahu may also gesture toward the possibility of international involvement in Gaza, but only under those conditions.
Finally, his speech is aimed at Arab and other nations that have endorsed Palestinian independence. While Netanyahu is likely to strike a defiant tone, Israeli officials said he will also try to project a sense of hope and a willingness to discuss “the day after” if his government’s conditions are met.
Just before Netanyahu’s appearance, Trump told reporters at the White House that he believed “we’re close to getting some kind of deal done.” Standing beside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he added that Israel "know what I want.”