Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly used the United Nations General Assembly to defend Israel’s atrocities in besieged Gaza and the occupied West Bank, denying Israel’s genocide in Gaza and downplaying civilian harm and illegal settler violence.
A review of claims made between 2024 and 2026 shows significant discrepancies between Netanyahu’s statements and findings from international bodies and humanitarian agencies.
‘Greatest lie of the century’
In his 2026 UN address, Netanyahu called Israel’s genocide in Gaza “the greatest lie of the century”, arguing that warnings to civilians, vaccinations and food deliveries contradicted the claim.
A UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry reached a different conclusion in September 2025, finding on reasonable grounds that Israeli authorities and forces had committed four acts defined as genocide under the Genocide Convention.
The International Court of Justice has not issued a final ruling in South Africa’s genocide case, but has ordered Israel to take measures under the Genocide Convention and facilitate urgently needed humanitarian assistance.
Civilian casualties and aid
Netanyahu said in 2025 that Gaza’s civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio was below two to one and called it exceptionally low. He also said Israel had enabled the distribution of 2 million tonnes of food in Gaza.
But aid entering Gaza does not necessarily reach civilians. UN agencies have documented restrictions, insecurity and damaged infrastructure that have hindered aid collection and distribution.
The UN-backed IPC confirmed famine in Gaza Governorate in August 2025.
Netanyahu has also repeatedly accused Hamas of stealing aid. However, a US Agency for International Development review of 156 reported cases of theft or loss between October 2023 and May 2025 found no evidence of systematic diversion of US-funded aid by Hamas.
Since October 8, 2023, Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000 others in its genocide in Gaza, while destroying around 90 percent of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.
Despite a ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, Palestinian authorities say Israeli attacks have continued in Gaza, killing 1,399 Palestinians and injuring 4,863 others.
Israel continues to restrict the entry of agreed quantities of food, medicines, medical supplies, shelter materials and prefabricated homes into Gaza, where around 2.4 million Palestinians live, including about 2.15 million displaced people.
Illegal settler violence
Netanyahu described violence by illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank as the work of about 150 “juvenile delinquents” and said only “two or three” Palestinians had been killed.
UN figures show a broader pattern. By July 20, 2026, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had recorded more than 1,330 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage since the start of the year — more than six incidents a day.
Eighteen Palestinians had been killed in illegal settler attacks or related incidents by that date.
Between January 2023 and July 2026, OCHA said illegal settler attacks and related access restrictions had caused full or partial displacement in 121 Palestinian communities.
The figures contrast with Netanyahu’s portrayal of illegal settler violence as a marginal phenomenon.
