Netanyahu shrugs off UN walkout, says Israel must ‘finish the job’ against Hamas in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly in a defiant address Friday that his nation must “finish the job” in its war against Hamas terrorists and secure the release of all remaining hostages from 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,” declared Netanyahu, ignoring a walkout by dozens of delegates just before he began his remarks.

“That is why Israel must finish the job; that is why we want to do so as fast as possible.”

Elsewhere, Netanyahu called for the total defeat of Iran and its “terror axis” proxies in Iraq, Syria and Yemen — while taking a victory lap over Israel’s decimation of Hezbollah’s ranks in Lebanon.

“Remember those beepers?” Netanyahu said of Israel’s devastating September 2024 operation in which explosives were placed inside pagers carried by Hezbollah terrorists.

“We paged Hezbollah. And believe me, they got the message. And thousands of terrorists dropped to the ground.”

Netanyahu, 75, also rejected recognition of a Palestinian state, which several US allies have done ahead of this year’s General Assembly.

“Giving the Palestinians a state, one mile from Jerusalem after Oct. 7,” he said, “is like giving Al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after Sept. 11.”

“This is sheer madness, it’s insane and we won’t do it,” he added. “We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down a hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood.”

Netanyahu later accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and others who moved to officially recognize a Palestinian state of sending a message to the rest of the world that “murdering Jews pays off” while giving Hamas “a pass” on its “genocidal” ambitions.

“Israel is accused of deliberately starving the people of Gaza when Israel is deliberately feeding the people of Gaza,” he said at one point. “Since the beginning of the war, Israel has led into Gaza more than two million tons of food and aid.”

“That’s one ton of aid for every man, woman, and child in Gaza, nearly 3,000 calories per person per day,” he added. “Some starvation policy.”

Netanyahu also sent a message of hope to the remaining hostages, with loudspeakers set up across Gaza to broadcast portions of his speech.

“Our brave heroes, this is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you, live from the United Nations,” he told them. “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.”

The Israeli head of government also sent a message to Palestinian civilians on their cell phones, which he claimed had been hacked by intelligence officials.

“To the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say, ‘Lay down your arms. Let my people go,’” Netanyahu quoted Moses.

“Free the hostages, all of them, the whole 48, free the hostages,” he added. “Now if you do, you will live. If you don’t, Israel will hunt you down.”