Netanyahu vows at UN to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza, after dozens of representatives walk out
Netanyahu also delivered a message directly to the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the United Nations General Assembly on September 26, 2025 in New York City. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
(JTA) — Delivering a speech to rows of empty seats at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza.
“The final remnants of Hamas are holed up in Gaza City. They vow to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7 again and again and again, no matter how diminished their forces. That is why Israel must finish the job,” said Netanyahu.
Ahead of his remarks, representatives of dozens of countries present in the assembly hall walked out, marking the latest protest by world leaders against the increasingly isolated state over its ongoing operations in Gaza. The few world powers in attendance, including the United States and the United Kingdom, also replaced their most senior officials with more low-level diplomats during his remarks, according to reports from the assembly chambers.
While many world leaders have publicly condemned Israel for mass starvation and killings in the besieged enclave, Netanyahu claimed during his address that some had sent a different message privately.
“I want to tell you a secret behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly condemn us, privately thank us,” said Netanyahu. “They tell me how much they value Israel’s superb intelligence services that have prevented time and again, terrorist attacks in their capitals, time and again, saving countless lives.”
During his speech, the Israeli leader wore a QR code pin on his lapel that led to a site about Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and condemned global leaders that have unilaterally recognized Palestinian statehood over the past week.
“Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after Oct. 7 is like giving Al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after 9/11,” said Netanyahu. “This is sheer madness. It’s insane, and we won’t do it.”
Netanyahu also delivered a message directly to the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages in Gaza, telling the assembly that his government had “surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers” to deliver a broadcast of his remarks. (Israeli media reported that the loudspeakers were also erected inside the enclave.)
“Our brave heroes, this is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter and we will not rest until we bring all of you home,” said Netanyahu, first in Hebrew and then English.
He added that his remarks would also be carried to cell phones in Gaza through the “special efforts by Israeli intelligence.”
“To the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say, lay down your arms, let my people go, free the hostages, all of them, the whole 48 free the hostages,” said Netanyahu. “Now, if you do, you will live. If you don’t, Israel will hunt you down.”
Netanyahu also used the speech to restate his long-held rejection of claims that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza. As Israel moves ahead with its Gaza takeover plan, the army has issued an evacuation order for the roughly 1 million civilians living in the city.
“I want to ask you a simple question, a simple logical question, would a country committing genocide plead with the civilian population it is supposedly targeting to get out of harm’s way?” said Netanyahu.
Earlier this month, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry concluded for the first time that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.
