Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel has worked to prevent a genocide, denying claims that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, describing the accusation as “the greatest lie of the century”.
Mr Netanyahu says Israel has worked to prevent a genocide, denying claims that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, describing the accusation as “the greatest lie of the century”.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu said his government issued evacuation warnings, dropped leaflets and facilitated the distribution of relief materials to civilians in Gaza in an effort to protect them from the war.
“Here’s the simple truth,” Mr Netanyahu said. “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”
Dozens of delegates walked out of the UNGA hall when Mr Netanyahu mounted the lectern for his speech. This was shortly after they stayed to watch Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas address the gathering in a pre-recorded video.
The Israeli leader said his government had facilitated the delivery of millions of tonnes of food and administered vaccinations as part of humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza, which he said was inconsistent with the conduct of a “genocidal regime”.
“What genocidal regime gives a million polio vaccinations to the enemy’s population? What genocidal regime enables the distribution of two million tons of food into Gaza? That’s a ton for every person,” Mr Netanyahu said.
He said Israel was waging war on eight fronts with “Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, militias in Iraq, militias in Syria, Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria”, with the eighth being what he described as a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at disparaging Israel in the media.
Mr Netanyahu singled out Qatar and Türkiye among others as the chief sponsors spreading anti-Israel and antisemitic information on social media. He also accused the foreign governments and media of disseminating information that fuels hatred towards Israelis.
“Tyrants the world over seek to threaten us. They seek to undermine our resolve with their campaign of lies,” he said. “But ultimately, as on the military battlefield, the Jewish people will prevail.”
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups invaded an Israeli music festival on October 7, 2023, killing over 1200 people and abducting 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel retaliated by launching military operations that have, so far, killed over 73,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Mr Netanyahu said he had no regrets about destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities, claiming the world stood a risk of extermination had Tehran been left to develop its nuclear plants.
“Devastating Iran’s nuclear facilities was hard,” Mr Netanyahu stated. “But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make as Prime Minister. Because if we hadn’t done it, we’d all be dead.”
