Archive · 23 Sep 2026
Gaza War Dominates UN General Assembly Opening Speeches
World leaders met at the United Nations in New York to discuss major problems.
The war in Gaza was one of the biggest subjects.
Several leaders said Israel’s actions were causing enormous suffering and called them genocide.
They also criticized Israeli settlement growth and violence in the West Bank.
The UN secretary-general warned that the possibility of peace between Israelis and Palestinians was disappearing.
Israel’s representative rejected the criticism as anti-Israel propaganda.
Turkey’s leader described Gaza as an inhumane concentration camp, and Israel’s delegation walked out during his speech.
Some leaders also criticized Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.
Israel’s prime minister was expected to speak later and defend his government’s actions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned Israel’s Gaza campaign and warned that settlement expansion could raise the spectre of ethnic cleansing.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and leaders from Jordan, Turkey and Qatar described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II said continued Palestinian deaths and West Bank annexation showed that international inaction had become a choice.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Gaza an inhumane concentration camp, prompting Israel’s delegation to leave his speech.
Israeli officials rejected the criticism, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to defend Israel’s Gaza campaign and war with Iran.
- Who
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Israeli officials and other world leaders.
- What
- Speeches at the UN General Assembly focused heavily on the Gaza crisis, Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- When
- During the opening of the United Nations General Assembly’s 81st session on Tuesday; the confrontation was expected to continue when Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Assembly on Thursday.
- Where
- The United Nations headquarters in New York, with remarks concerning Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
- Why
- Leaders used the opening debate to condemn the humanitarian situation, settlement expansion and what they described as international inaction over the conflict.
Critics of Israel’s Gaza Campaign
Israel and Supporters’ Position
Characterization of the Gaza war
Critics of Israel’s Gaza Campaign
Lula da Silva, Erdoğan, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other leaders described Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, while Guterres condemned the scale of killing and destruction.
Israel and Supporters’ Position
Israel rejected the criticism; Danny Danon called Guterres’s remarks anti-Israel propaganda, and Netanyahu was expected to defend the campaign.
West Bank settlements and annexation
Critics of Israel’s Gaza Campaign
Guterres and Abdullah II said settlement expansion, displacement and possible annexation were undermining peace and threatening the two-state solution.
Israel and Supporters’ Position
The article does not provide a detailed Israeli response on West Bank policy, but says Netanyahu was expected to defend Israel’s broader policies before the Assembly.
International response and ceasefire claims
Critics of Israel’s Gaza Campaign
Abdullah II said international inaction had become a choice and argued that Palestinian deaths and restrictions in Gaza could not be treated as temporary wartime measures.
Israel and Supporters’ Position
Donald Trump claimed credit for a Gaza peace plan and said he had ended eight wars, while Abdullah II criticized the failure of what he called Trump’s ceasefire.
- Main forum
- Opening sessions of the United Nations General Assembly’s 81st session
- Central issue
- Israel’s war in Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- UN position
- António Guterres said the Gaza destruction was unprecedented in his tenure and warned that the two-state solution was disappearing.
- West Bank warning
- Guterres said settlement expansion, displacement and violence were raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing.
- Israeli response
- Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon called Guterres’s remarks anti-Israel propaganda under the UN banner.
- Turkey’s speech
- Israel’s delegation walked out after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Gaza an inhumane concentration camp.
- Expected next address
- Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to defend Israel’s Gaza campaign and its war with Iran on Thursday.