Highlights:
- Diplomats from Arab, Muslim, African, and European nations staged a walkout during Netanyahu’s UNGA address.
- Netanyahu vowed Israel would “finish the job” in Gaza and urged Hamas to surrender.
- Israeli military broadcast Netanyahu’s speech across Gaza using loudspeakers and phone networks.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN remotely after being denied a US visa.
- The protest highlighted Israel’s growing global isolation, with only a few allies backing its Gaza campaign.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) witnessed a dramatic scene on Friday as scores of diplomats walked out when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered the hall to deliver his address. The mass exit came as Israel faces growing global backlash over its military operations in Gaza.
Netanyahu, facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court, struck a defiant tone in his speech, promising that Israel would “finish the job” in Gaza “as quickly as possible.” In a controversial move ahead of the address, he instructed Israel’s military to place loudspeakers around Gaza to broadcast his remarks directly to Palestinians. He claimed that Israeli intelligence had even taken control of phones across Gaza to livestream the speech, a psychological tactic aimed at pressuring Hamas leaders to surrender, release hostages, and lay down arms.
The walkout was led by representatives from nearly all Arab and Muslim-majority countries, who were soon joined by diplomats from several African nations and a handful of European states, according to reports from Axios. The empty seats starkly reflected Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation, with the United States under President Donald Trump remaining one of its few steadfast allies on the world stage.
The timing of Netanyahu’s speech came just a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UNGA remotely, following the Trump administration’s refusal to grant him a visa to travel to New York. In his address, Abbas reiterated that Palestinians would never leave Gaza “despite all they had suffered,” further highlighting the deep divide at the heart of the conflict.
The mass diplomatic walkout underscored the deepening tensions between Israel and much of the international community, many of whom have condemned the civilian toll of the Gaza war.
The rare protest at the UN highlighted the level of frustration and disapproval of Israel’s military campaign, as well as Netanyahu’s rhetoric that critics say leaves little room for negotiation.
As Netanyahu exited the hall, the image of empty chairs behind him became a powerful symbol circulating on global media — a visual reminder of how isolated Israel has become as calls for an immediate ceasefire grow louder.
