Dozens of delegations walk out of UN hall as Netanyahu begins speech

Israel has been at the centre of global political debate over the attack on Gaza, the devastation there, and strikes on Iran and Lebanon, with some countries opposing these actions and others backing them. Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium on Thursday, September 24, 2026, to address the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

As soon as his speech began, representatives of a dozen countries in the UN hall walked out in protest. This meant Netanyahu's speech opened amid diplomatic uproar, which is being seen as an embarrassment for Israel on the world stage. However, how much this actually affects Netanyahu is a separate question.

As Netanyahu reached the podium to speak, representatives of several countries left their seats and began walking out of the hall. The Palestinian Mission had earlier called on representatives of various UN member states to stage such a collective walkout.

Expressing anger and protest over the killing of innocent people, many seats in the hall emptied right at the start of the speech. At the same time, some of Netanyahu's supporters clapped and raised mild slogans, while some attendees were seen capturing the moment on camera.

Netanyahu grew visibly angry on seeing representatives leave right at the start of his speech. He stood silently watching for nearly three minutes. He then criticised the departing representatives, saying that any of the remaining representatives who wished to leave could also do so.

Netanyahu called those walking out "moral cowards". He then defended Israel's military actions and laid out his position on the conflict in Iran and Gaza. The walkout had clearly angered him, though he did not show much anger on his face. However, his anger was evident to the world in his remark that anyone else who was "a coward" should leave immediately.

In his speech, Netanyahu rejected, as expected, allegations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. Referring to international criticism of Israel, he defended his country's military actions. Meanwhile, some representatives present in the hall expressed support for Netanyahu's speech. He also spoke of the idea of a "Greater Israel" and stated his expectations regarding it.

He said the whole world now knows that Israel wants a "Greater Israel", meaning it wants more land, because Jewish people lived on that land many years ago. By that same logic, he asked, what should be done about the United States and Australia, since these are nations entirely built on displaced peoples. History shows that after wiping out Native Americans, European migrants settled in America and Australia, and these same people later became the owners of those lands.