Dozens of U.N. delegates walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Thursday.
Netanyahu called those who left “moral cowards” and said those who remained and felt similarly should leave. Members of the Israeli delegation remained in the hall, cheering and chanting in support of the prime minister.
The Israeli leader's visit follows a tense back-and-forth with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who in a July video labeled Netanyahu a "war criminal." The Hague-based International Criminal Court has had outstanding warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Israel’s former defense minister over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, which they deny, related to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.