Nearly 70 delegations left the chamber as Israeli PM began speaking, while the US, UK, France and others remained
Delegates walk out as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 24, 2026. REUTERS
Delegations from nearly 70 countries walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall or left their seats vacant Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, staging a mass protest over Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its attacks across the region.
An Anadolu review of footage from the 81st UN General Assembly showed dozens of delegations leaving the chamber together after Netanyahu approached the podium.
Some countries left a single representative or junior diplomat behind, while others did not attend the address.
Turkiye, Palestine, Tunisia, Syria, Algeria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Malaysia, Indonesia and Kuwait were among the countries whose representatives joined the protest.
Delegations from Spain, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, Niger, Madagascar, Botswana, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde and several other countries also walked out or remained absent.
Dozens of UN delegates walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage amid stark divisions over the war in Iran, Gaza’s future and illegal settler violence. pic.twitter.com/Jvwe1lB8L8
— TRT World (@trtworld) September 25, 2026
The protest came amid continuing international condemnation of Israel’s assault on Gaza, its policies in the occupied West Bank and its attacks on Lebanon and Syria.
A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has rejected the finding.
Netanyahu is also the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued on November 21, 2024, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.
Several Western delegations remained
Representatives of the United States, Germany, Argentina, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Czechia and Greece remained in the General Assembly hall during Netanyahu’s address.
The United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium and Norway, whose relations with Israel have faced increasing tensions over Gaza, also kept representatives in the chamber, as did the European Union delegation.
Read: Macron denounces Trump’s Gaza diplomacy as spectacle of shame
China, which has repeatedly criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, was represented by a single diplomat.
Delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, also remained in their seats.
Other countries represented during the speech included Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Kenya and El Salvador.
The walkout left large sections of the General Assembly chamber visibly empty as Netanyahu continued his address.