Benjamin Netanyahu has branded allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza the ‘biggest lie of the century’ in a fiery address to the United Nations – after scores of delegates walked out as he took to the podium.

The Israeli Prime Minister was met with a mixture of cheers and boos as he approached the rostrum in New York, with large numbers of representatives getting to their feet and leaving the chamber.

A majority of the visible seats were left empty as Netanyahu began speaking, while his own delegation stood and applauded.

The scenes prompted General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman to repeatedly call for order.

But Netanyahu responded by turning his fire on those who had left.

‘If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t left this hall, please do so now,’ he said.

The scenes came after the Palestinian Mission to the UN had urged member states to bring as many staff as possible into the chamber and ‘collectively walk out of the assembly’ when Netanyahu’s name was announced.

The Palestinian message said the protest would demonstrate that nations were unwilling to be ‘complicit in its genocide and war crimes and illegal occupation’.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted his nation’s right to wage war against Iran in a defiant speech to world leaders at the UN General Assembly

Delegates jeered and booed, after many just walked out, and the speaker of the session shouted for order

Netanyahu’s own team stood and applauded during his speech at the UN 

Israel rejects allegations of genocide and war crimes and disputes claims that its presence in Palestinian territory is illegal.

Netanyahu, speaking to a largely hostile international audience, then launched an uncompromising defence of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and its wider regional campaign against Iran.

He said the decision to attack Iran had been among the easiest he had ever made, while insisting Israel’s military action was also protecting the very countries whose representatives had just walked out.

‘In defending itself, Israel is also defending many of the countries whose delegates just left this hall,’ Netanyahu said. ‘In fact, I want you to know that many of their leaders even thank us privately for taking out Iran’s nukes.’

Netanyahu, his voice rising in emphasis, said attacking Iran ‘was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make’.

He also used the speech to directly challenge accusations that Israel’s conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide.

Allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza are not only false but “the biggest lie of the century,” he said.

The Prime Minister pointed to what he described as Israel’s efforts to protect civilians and provide aid, while accusing critics of presenting a distorted picture of the war.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters

His address came after a week of speeches at the UN in which numerous world leaders had condemned Israel’s conduct in Gaza and called for an end to the conflict.

The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.

At least 73,922 Palestinians have subsequently been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government. International organisations have generally regarded the ministry’s casualty figures as credible, although the figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in the overall toll.

A ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas last October brought an end to the heaviest fighting and resulted in the release of the remaining hostages, but subsequent negotiations have stalled.

Israel still controls most of Gaza and continues to conduct strikes near military-held areas, while Hamas has not disarmed or surrendered control of the territory.

Netanyahu also used the UN platform to defend Israel against criticism over violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

He dismissed what he described as exaggerated coverage of the issue, while making clear he did not approve of attacks against Palestinians.

‘What (the media) cover is a handful of young juvenile delinquents, about 150 in number, who go or throw stones, who chop down olive trees,’ Netanyahu said.

‘I can’t stand that. I won’t stand for vigilantism.’

The comments come amid international criticism of Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank.