The walkout was particularly visible among representatives from Arab and Muslim countries, as well as several African and European delegations, according to reports from the event. It happened as Netanyahu defended Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza and vowed to “finish the job,” while Palestinian casualties and the humanitarian crisis remained at the center of international criticism.
The contrast was immediately amplified across social media, where users circulated images comparing the attendance during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s UN appearance with the largely vacant chamber during Netanyahu’s speech.
The images were presented by users as a stark visual contrast between the reception given to Iran’s president and that given to the Israeli prime minister, with some describing the scene as evidence of Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation.
The walkout also came against the backdrop of the enormous Palestinian death toll and continuing humanitarian crisis caused by the war.
Gaza medical sources reported on Sept. 20, 2026, that 73,910 Palestinians had been killed and 174,935 wounded since the beginning of the Israeli military campaign in October 2023, while warning that additional victims remained beneath rubble and in areas inaccessible to rescue crews.
UN humanitarian reporting has continued to document civilian deaths, damaged housing, displacement and severe restrictions affecting relief operations, with 21 people, including 12 children, reportedly killed when a war-damaged residential building collapsed in Gaza City on Sept. 16, 2026.
The UN has also reported that children continue to be killed in attacks affecting populated areas, while most of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents face overcrowded displacement sites and preparations for the rainy season amid serious humanitarian constraints.
Against this backdrop, the sight of delegates leaving the General Assembly as Netanyahu took the podium became a powerful image in online discussion of Israeli regime’s international standing.
Netanyahu, however, used the same speech to issue threats directed at Iran and regional resistance movements for further Israeli incursions across the region.
He then invoked one of the most controversial Israeli operations of the war in Lebanon.
Holding up a pager, Netanyahu referred to the September 2024 explosions targeting Hezbollah communications devices, saying, “You remember those beepers, the pagers--we paged Hezbollah, and believe me, they got the message.”
One social media user described the scene as: “Psycho terrorist and wanted war criminal Netanyahu threatens world with exploding pager at the UN, delegates walk out.”
Netanyahu was referring to the September 17, 2024, explosions in which thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated across Lebanon and parts of Syria.
The blasts killed 12 people and wounded almost 3,000, according to Lebanon’s health minister.
The victims included children and health workers, while Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those wounded, Iranian officials said.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for what it called a criminal aggression, while Israel initially declined to comment publicly on the operation.
In November 2024, Netanyahu reportedly acknowledged for the first time that Israeli regime had been behind the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, according to Israeli media reports citing remarks attributed to him at a cabinet meeting.
Reports indicated that the devices had been compromised before reaching Hezbollah members, allowing explosives to be detonated remotely after the devices were distributed.
The pager explosions were followed the next day by a second wave involving wireless communication devices, which killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 450.
The combined attacks therefore killed and wounded civilians as well as members of Hezbollah resistance movement, while hospitals across Lebanon struggled to cope with the sudden influx of casualties.
Coming immediately after a mass diplomatic walkout and amid continuing international criticism over Gaza, the gesture also became another focal point for online criticism and isolation of the Israeli regime and its criminal military conduct.