Netanyahu says peace with Lebanon 'possible' in UN address

During his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied allegations of genocide or famine in Gaza, vowed to continue the war on Gaza, and said that peace with Lebanon would be "possible" should it succeed in disarming Hezbollah.

"I call on the Lebanese government to also begin direct negotiations with Israel," Netanyahu said, after speaking of ongoing talks between his government and Syria's new authorities, which have reportedly stalled due to Israeli demands for a "corridor" into southern Syria.

"I commend it for its declared aim to disarm Hezbollah," he said of Lebanon's recent efforts to establish a state monopoly on arms. "But we need more than words."

Dozens of people walked out of the General Assembly hall as Netanyahu took to the podium, delaying his speech by several minutes as the crowd filed out of the room. The Israeli delegation and supporters sitting on the sidelines clapped and cheered despite the walkout.

"If Lebanon takes genuine and sustained action to disarm Hezbollah, I'm sure we can achieve a sustainable peace," Netanyahu told the mostly empty hall. "Of course, until that happens, we will take whatever action we need to defend ourselves and to maintain the conditions of the cease-fire that was established in Lebanon."

In its consistent attacks on Lebanon since agreeing to a truce in November 2024, Israel has killed more than 310 people and continues to occupy six areas on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line. "Our goal is not merely to monitor Hezbollah's actions," he said, "but to prevent them from violating the cease-fire and attacking us at any time."

This time last year, shortly after Netanyahu had concluded his address to the General Assembly on Friday, Sept. 27, Israeli jets unleashed more than 80 2,000-pound bombs on Beirut's southern suburbs, flattening at least four buildings, assassinating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and killing an unknown number of civilians.

'The opposite is true'

Of Israel's ongoing onslaught in Gaza, Netanyahu insisted his campaign would not end until Hamas was defeated. “Israel must finish the job in Gaza as fast as possible,” he said, claiming the “final remnants of Hamas are holed up in Gaza City,” the largest Palestinian city and the site of an intense operation to seize it launched by Israel last week.

At the U.N., Netanyahu addressed what he called “the false charge of genocide,” saying, "Israel is accused of deliberately targeting civilians. Ladies and gentlemen, the opposite is true."

Netanyahu referred to the army's evacuation orders for civilians in Gaza as proof of this, asking, “Did the Nazis ask the Jews to kindly leave, go out?” Israel is doing “everything it can to get civilians out of harm’s way,” he claimed. Israel regularly bombs Palestinians as they travel along "safe routes" designated as such by the Israeli army, and tented areas where displaced populations are sheltering, having fled Israeli aggression multiple times, are also bombed by Israel.

Israel has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023. More than 12,000 of that number were killed since March, when Israel unilaterally collapsed a cease-fire with Hamas and restarted the war.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of war crimes, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

Netanyahu also called accusations of man-made famine false.

"What a joke. Israel is accused of deliberately starving Gaza residents, when it has brought in more than two million tons of food and aid, almost 3,000 calories per person every day. What starvation?" Netanyahu said.

"Israel is deliberately feeding the people of Gaza," Netanyahu said. "If there are Gazans who don’t have enough food, it's because Hamas is stealing it."

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 400 people have died from starvation as a result of Israel's suffocating blockade on Gaza.

Moments after Netanyahu left the podium, Trump told reporters at the White House that he believed a Gaza cease-fire deal may have been reached. "It's looking like we have a deal on Gaza," he said. "I think it's a deal that will get the hostages back, it's going to be a deal that will end the war."