In protest of the horrific war on Gaza and the most recent Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, a large number of ambassadors left Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday.
As Netanyahu stepped onto the rostrum to begin his speech, a number of diplomats were spotted rushing out of the room. The head diplomat had to call out “order, please” as the Israeli prime minister mounted the podium. Nearing its one-year anniversary, the conflict in Gaza has rendered a large portion of the territory uninhabitable.
Nearly all of the population is said to have left their homes at least once, and hunger is practically certain for those living in northern Gaza. Over 42,000 people have been murdered. In the meantime, airstrikes and tank fires have destroyed houses, schools, and hospitals, wiping out entire neighborhoods and people.
Israel has been bombing Lebanon nonstop for the past week in an attempt to prolong the conflict despite the carnage, killing over 700 people—many of them women and children.
Clearly incensed about the widespread walkout, Netanyahu justified his reaction to the recent uptick in assaults on Lebanon and the strikes on southern Israel on October 7, which were spearheaded by Hamas.
“Israel is fully entitled to eliminate this menace and securely send our citizens back to their homes. And we are doing precisely that,” Netanyahu declared. “We will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought home.”
Several international officials, especially US President Joe Biden, have reiterated demands for a ceasefire during the course of this week. Netanyahu, however, appeared to dismiss the notion, assuring the UN that his forces would continue to attack Lebanon with “all our might.”
He said that all of us are at battle against Hezbollah. Israel has no option while as Hezbollah decides to pursue a military strategy. Furthermore, Israel is fully entitled to eliminate this menace and allow our residents to securely return to their homes.
Israeli fighter planes launched a barrage of airstrikes on the heavily populated southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, two hours after Netanyahu finished speaking. This bombing looked to be the most intense of last 17 years.
According to Israeli media, the strike was directed against Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, however the Israeli army claimed that it was targeting the organization’s headquarters, which were purportedly hidden beneath civilian structures.
However, it’s said that Nasrallah was in a “safe place and what is published in the Hebrew media is not true.”
Since international leaders arrived in New York City, Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East have dominated conversations.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, questioned Israel’s “lies” on Thursday and demanded to know whether it wasn’t Israel that was to blame for the deaths of 15,000 Palestinian children.
“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.
