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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly that his country would continue its military campaign against Hezbollah until all objectives were achieved, according to a Reuters report on the speech. Netanyahu stated that Israel had been tolerating an intolerable situation for nearly a year and declared “enough is enough” in reference to attacks from Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon. A Reuters assessment of the address found that the Israeli leader also castigated critics and insisted that Israel was winning its multiple conflicts, while offering no concessions on cease-fire proposals. Netanyahu had initially not planned to attend the session but decided to respond to what he described as lies and slanders against his country by previous speakers.[[1]](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-says-israel-seeks-peace-fighting-life-2024-09-27/)
Several delegations exited the hall as Netanyahu took the podium, a development that Reuters and the Associated Press both documented in their coverage of the event. Supporters in the gallery cheered during the walkout, while boos echoed as he was introduced, according to an AP dispatch from the assembly. The Israeli leader called the departing delegates moral cowards in his remarks, the Reuters account showed. This reaction underscored the deep divisions at the 79th session over Israel’s conduct in Gaza and Lebanon.[[2]](https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-lebanon-united-nations-12e02fd82f35a8438aa907ca6762bac0)
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who spoke immediately before Netanyahu, both denounced the violence in the region in strong terms, an AP summary of the proceedings reported. Golob demanded that Netanyahu stop the war immediately while pounding the podium, according to the same AP report. Sharif described events in Gaza as systematic slaughter of innocent Palestinians, the AP noted. Those addresses set a confrontational tone that carried into Netanyahu’s appearance at the gathering in New York.[[3]](https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-un-general-assembly-guide-357ba48d01adc6acdd80a503a4734c80)
A senior Hamas official condemned Netanyahu’s speech as full of lies and contradictions, Reuters reported from Gaza. Sami Abu Zuhri told the news agency that the walkouts sent a message that Netanyahu’s claims were no longer believed. He added that calls for Hamas to surrender were nonsense because the core issue remained the occupation rather than self-defense, according to the Reuters interview. The Palestinian group has maintained its position even as mediation efforts for cease-fires in both Gaza and Lebanon have faltered.[[1]](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-says-israel-seeks-peace-fighting-life-2024-09-27/)
Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed about 1,200 people has resulted in more than 41,000 deaths in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that Reuters has cited in its conflict coverage. The escalation into Lebanon has sent the death toll there into the hundreds in recent weeks, an AP assessment placed the increase amid intensive Israeli strikes. Netanyahu’s speech arrived as international mediators continued efforts to prevent a full-scale regional war, though the address offered no new openings for diplomacy, Reuters indicated. The United Nations itself has faced criticism from the Israeli side during the session.[[4]](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/27/us/politics/netanyahu-israel-un.html)
Thousands of demonstrators protested in Midtown Manhattan ahead of the speech, condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon, The New York Times reported from the scene. About a dozen people were arrested as the march moved through the streets, according to the Times account that detailed participation by figures including Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Protesters decried Netanyahu’s presence at the United Nations and called for an end to the conflicts, the newspaper’s coverage showed. Police managed the events near the UN headquarters amid heightened security.[[5]](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/27/nyregion/netanyahu-un-speech-protest-nyc.html)
