Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a combative speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday, after scores of delegates walked out in protest before he began.
In his address broadcast into Gaza on loudspeakers — and streamed across Gazans’ personal devices, which Israel had taken control of in an “unprecedented operation,” the Israeli leader claimed — Netanyahu sent a message to the hostages held there, saying, “we have not forgotten you,” and declared the war was “not over” as long as Hamas remained a threat to Israel’s survival.
Netanyahu also denied charges of genocide in Gaza and lashed out at Western countries that recently recognized a Palestinian state, saying “it will be a mark of shame on all of you.”
Right-wing Israeli ministers have responded to the move by calling for the annexation of the West Bank, but US President Donald Trump has reportedly pledged to Arab leaders that he will prevent that from happening.