Nearly 70 country delegations walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall or left their seats vacant on Thursday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address, staging a mass protest over Israel’s military actions in Gaza and across the region.
Dozens of delegations left the chamber together after Netanyahu approached the podium, with some countries leaving only a single representative or junior diplomat behind while others did not attend the address.
Türkiye, Palestine, Pakistan, 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, according to Anadolu.
Delegations from Spain, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Oman, Niger, Madagascar, Botswana, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda and Cabo Verde were also reported to have walked out or remained absent.
Protesting the war crimes
The protest came amid continued international criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its policies in the occupied West Bank and its attacks in Lebanon and Syria.
A UN-backed independent commission of inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, a finding Israel has rejected.
Netanyahu is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in November 2024 over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Several Western delegations remain
Not all delegations joined the walkout. Representatives of the United States, Germany, Argentina, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine, Czechia and Greece remained in the chamber during Netanyahu’s speech.
The United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Belgium and Norway also kept representatives in the hall, as did the European Union delegation.
China was represented by a single diplomat, while the delegations of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — which established diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords — also remained seated.
Australia, Austria, Canada, Portugal, Poland, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Kenya and El Salvador were among the other countries represented during the address.
The mass departure left large sections of the General Assembly chamber visibly empty as Netanyahu continued his speech.
