Dozens of diplomats have staged a walkout at the United Nations as Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium to give Israel's national address, in which he railed against world leaders who have recognised Palestine and condemned his attack on Gaza.
Shortly after he spoke, US President Donald Trump told reporters he believed a deal to "end the war" had been achieved, with details to be announced soon.
The Israeli prime minister, who is wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court, travelled to the US via a roundabout route, apparently to avoid the airspace of European countries that are obligated to arrest him.
He was applauded by some at the general assembly in New York, but rows of desks sat empty before him as he spoke, less than two weeks after a UN commission of inquiry concluded his country was committing a genocide.
Australia's delegation was not part of the walkout, but no high-ranking Australian was present. As is often the case through the succession of speeches, a bureaucrat was in the hall to hear it.
Mr Netanyahu used his speech to criticise the international community, complaining his country was fighting a "false charge of genocide" while Hamas terrorists who killed Israelis on October 7 had been given "a pass".
He also mocked the two-state solution road map adopted by the UN General Assembly this month, which was put forward by France and Saudi Arabia and supported by 142 of 193 member nations.
And he criticised Australia and other countries that recognised Palestinian statehood in recent days, saying they had sent a message that "murdering Jews pays off".
"Here's another message to those Western leaders: Israel will not allow you to shove a terrorist state down our throats," Mr Netanyahu said.
"We will not commit national suicide because you don't have the guts to face down a hostile media and antisemitic mobs demanding Israel's blood."
Mr Netanyahu said Jews in Australia and elsewhere now faced rising antisemitic violence, which he blamed on critics of his war on Gaza, which has killed an estimated 65,500 people, mostly women and children.
'Maybe a deal on Gaza'
Just after the speech, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House: "I think we have maybe a deal on Gaza."
"I think it's a deal that will get the hostages back, it's going to be a deal that will end the war, it's going to be peace," he added.
The day before, Mr Trump — who was repeatedly praised in Mr Netanyahu's speech — said he would "not allow" Israel to annex the West Bank, a threat made by some in the Israeli government in response to Western moves to recognise Palestine.
"There's been enough," Mr Trump said on Thursday, local time. "It's time to stop now."
Since his return to power in January, Mr Trump has suggested a ceasefire or peace deal "is close" on multiple occasions.
He gave no further details on Friday. But earlier in the week, peace envoy Steve Witkoff said a 21-point peace plan had been discussed with Arab leaders on the summit sidelines.
NBC News reported that Mr Trump would meet Mr Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, citing a White House official.
The day before Mr Netanyahu spoke, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech via pre-recorded video, because the US refused him a visa to attend the UN world leaders' week.
Mr Abbas thanked those nations that had recognised statehood, but pointed to the "more than 1,000" previous resolutions on Palestine that UN bodies had passed but failed to implement.
"There have been many efforts and many international initiatives without reaching an end to this tragic situation, and the Palestinian people are living under the yoke of occupation," Mr Abbas said.
Message to hostages from the rostrum
Mr Netanyahu began his speech with a focus on Iran and its proxies, which he said Israel had mostly neutralised, before mounting a case for the ongoing assault on Gaza.
He repeated arguments — rejected by humanitarian groups and independent monitors — that food shortages had been caused by Hamas theft, rather than Israeli blocks on aid, and that Israel gave civilians adequate warnings of attacks.
Bearing a large QR code pinned to his blazer, Mr Netanyahu described as a "joke" the conclusions reached by the UN inquiry's report, released last week.
It found that genocidal intent is the only reasonable conclusion to draw from Israel's pattern of conduct — a view shared by every major human rights group and many of the world's genocide scholars.
Israel believes about 20 hostages are still alive in Gaza, and Mr Netanyahu said he was using part of his UN speech to address them directly.
"I've surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers connected to this microphone," he said, before delivering messages in Hebrew and English assuring hostages they were not forgotten.
He also said Israeli intelligence had ensured his speech would be "streamed live through the cell phones of Gazans".
