Netanyahu Faces UN Boycott as Hamas Condemns Gaza Attacks
Delegations Walk Out as Netanyahu Addresses UN Amid Accusations from Hamas
New York – Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a tense reception at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, with several delegations walking out in protest as he took the stage as the day’s first speaker.
Taher al-Nunu, media adviser to the head of Hamas’s political bureau, called the boycott “one manifestation of Israel’s isolation and the consequences of the war of extermination.”
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, added that Netanyahu was left with “nothing but a chorus of cheerleaders who entered the UN hall only to clap in support of genocide.”
In a statement, Hamas accused the Israeli leader of spreading “lies and blatant denial of the genocide, forced displacement, and systematic starvation” carried out by Israel in Gaza. “If he truly cared for his captives, he would end the brutal bombing, massacres, and destruction of Gaza. Instead, he continues to lie and endanger their lives,” the group said, referring to hostages taken by Hamas.
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 whom the Israeli military says are dead.
During his address, Netanyahu rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza and denied using starvation as a tactic. He also vowed to block a Palestinian state, accusing European nations that recently recognized one of pushing Israel toward “national suicide” and rewarding Hamas.
Hamas framed the boycott of Netanyahu’s speech as evidence of “growing global solidarity with the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent state.”
The conflict has taken a heavy toll on civilians. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, considered reliable by the United Nations, at least 65,549 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing retaliatory offensive, most of them civilians.
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