UN General Assembly 2024: Diplomats walk out in protest against Netanyahu address
Scores of diplomats walked out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, in protest against the devastating war on Gaza and the latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Several diplomats could be seen walking out in haste as Netanyahu entered the great hall to speak from the rostrum, with the presiding diplomat having to shout "order, please" as the Israeli leader took to the stage.
The war on Gaza, now approaching its one-year mark, has turned much of the enclave into an uninhabitable hellscape.
More than 42,000 people have been killed, almost the entire population are reported to have fled their homes at least once, and those in northern Gaza are on the verge of famine.
Meanwhile, whole neighbourhoods and families have been erased, with homes, schools and hospitals devastated by air strikes and tank fire.
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Despite the bloodbath, Israel has sought to expand the war, and in the past week has been relentlessly bombing Lebanon, killing more than 700 people, including scores of women and children.
Visibly angry due to the mass walkout, Netanyahu defended his response to the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the recent escalatory attacks on Lebanon.
"Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that's exactly what we're doing," Netanyahu said. "We will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought home."
Netanyahu's speech was also replete with dire warnings that there could be more carnage to come.
"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: if you strike us, we will strike you," he said. "There is no place no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach and that's true of the entire Middle East."
Tensions between Israel and Iran have been on the rise since Israel attacked Iran's embassy complex in Damascus earlier this year and assassinated Hamas's political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Iranian officials have said that Tehran reserves the right to retaliate at their chosen time and place.
Throughout the week, world leaders have been calling for an end to the fighting, with several of them, including US President Joe Biden, reiterating calls for a ceasefire.
Netanyahu, however, seemed to pour cold water on the idea, telling the UN that his military would keep striking Lebanon with "all our might".
"We're at war with Hezbollah," he said. "As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice. And Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely."
Two hours after Netanyahu spoke, Israeli fighter jets carried out a series of air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, a densely-populated area colloquially known as Dahiyeh, in what appeared to be the most intense bombardment of the Lebanese capital since the 2006 war.
Videos seen by Middle East Eye showed at least four flattened residential buildings with extensive damage to nearby structures.
The Israeli army claimed it targeted Hezbollah headquarters, which were allegedly located under residential buildings, and Israeli media claimed that the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was the target of the attack.
Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards, quoted security sources as saying Nasrallah was in a "safe place and what is published in the Hebrew media is not true."
MEE could not independently verify the claims.
Israel's wars in the Middle East have been one of the main topics of conversation since world leaders descended on New York City.
On Thursday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas challenged Israel's "lies" and asked who was responsible for the killing of 15,000 Palestinian children, if not Israel.
"Stop this crime. Stop this now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank," he said.
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