Global diplomats abandon UN General Assembly hall, exposing Israel’s growing isolation and mounting international support for Palestinian recognition amid ongoing genocide in Gaza.
* Walkout echoes similar protest at 2024 UNGA
United Nations — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations General Assembly was met with mass walkouts, highlighting his growing isolation on the world stage as the Gaza war drags into its second year.
Taking the podium at the start of the morning session on Friday, Netanyahu struck a controversial tone, saying Israel is fighting a war with seven countries.
Armed with pop charts and a barcode scan, he blamed the nations for not backing Israel. “This is not an indictment of Israel; it is an indictment of you.”
Netanyahu controversially said that the universal criticism that Israel is targeting civilians in Gaza is not based on facts.
“If there are Gazans who don’t have enough food, it’s because Hamas is stealing it,” he claimed.
Netanyahu denied that there is any enforced starvation in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Over ONE HUNDRED diplomats from more than FIFTY countries walked out when the war-criminal Netanyahu spoke at the UN. More than a dozen world leaders, including Spain, France, Brazil, and Chile, strongly criticized his regime, called the Gaza tragedy a genocide, and some even… pic.twitter.com/rqLkCYHl5Z
— Dr. Yasir Qadhi (@YasirQadhi) September 26, 2025
“Hamas threatens civilians in Gaza and uses them as props and human shields, which the Western press buys hook, line, and sinker,” the Israeli Prime Minister said.
As Netanyahu began his speech, diplomats from dozens of countries began to rise from their seats and leave the chamber.
Muslim, Arab, African, and Latin American delegations led the exodus, followed by several European delegations. Only the US, a handful of Pacific allies, and a few other countries remained in an increasingly empty hall.
The scene was a striking image of Netanyahu’s unpopularity abroad.
PICTORIAL NEWS:
Diplomats stage mass walkout at #UNGA as #Netanyahu begins speech
* Walkout is in protest of #Israel’s ongoing genocide in #Gaza
* It echoes similar protest that took place in 2024#FreePalestine #Israel #Trump #UNGA2025 #GazaGenocide #PalestinesVoiceErdogan pic.twitter.com/j03k3j8uTr
— Muslim News Nigeria (@muslimnews_NG) September 26, 2025
In the last few days, Britain, Canada, Australia, and France joined more than 140 other countries in formally recognising the state of Palestine. The shift has tilted the balance at the UN, leaving Israel more isolated than at any point in recent memory.
Some members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition have urged the annexation of parts or all of the occupied West Bank. Such a move would risk a clash with President Trump, who told world leaders this week that he would block it.
Even his arrival in New York underscored the strain. Netanyahu’s flight avoided European airspace altogether, a route designed to reduce the risk of an ICC-linked arrest.
ICC Criminal Netanyahu avoided flying over France, Spain, and other European countries to evade arrest for war crimes. Today, he’s in New York being booed by the international community. Everyone knows who you are now. pic.twitter.com/0T6VUSOLC2
— Dr. Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman) September 26, 2025
His convoy slipped through Manhattan under heavy security, as thousands of protesters gathered outside UN headquarters, waving Palestinian flags and chanting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Inside, Netanyahu described Western recognition of Palestine as “rewarding Hamas.” He reserved particular ire for Iran, accusing Tehran of driving instability across the region.
But in Gaza, another controversy brewed. Netanyahu’s office ordered the Israeli army to broadcast his UN speech live into Gaza using loudspeakers mounted on trucks and cranes.
“As part of the informational effort, the Prime Minister’s Office has instructed civilian agencies, in cooperation with the IDF, to place loudspeakers on trucks on the Israeli side of the Gaza border only, with the aim of broadcasting Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic speech today at the UN General Assembly in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.
In addition to sharp reactions from heads of state opposed to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, Netanyahu’s appearance, bracketed by empty seats, captured Israel’s isolation more starkly than any other moment of the week.
Delegates walk out in protest as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu – who has an ICC arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Gaza – arrived at the podium to address the #UNGA80 assembly. pic.twitter.com/1oXNP14wPk
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 26, 2025
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