Netanyahu Arrives at UN With a Pager Expecting Applause, Faces Heckling Instead

New York | September 25, 2026 | Shabu Zaidi

During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, a commotion erupted as a large number of representatives walked out of the hall. Some representatives also expressed their protest through heckling. The President of the UN General Assembly had to repeatedly appeal for order to be maintained.

During his address, Netanyahu referred to the pager explosion operation carried out against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2024 and held up a pager. He presented it as an example of Israel’s military actions, saying that Hezbollah remembers the incident. According to reports, thousands of pagers exploded during the operation, injuring more than 3,000 people and killing at least 12.

However, while displaying the pager and defending Israel’s military operations, Netanyahu faced widespread opposition inside the assembly hall. The departure of representatives from dozens of countries left a large number of seats visibly empty during his speech.

Commenting on the representatives who walked out, Netanyahu called them “moral cowards” and said that anyone else who wanted to leave could do so. Meanwhile, the Palestinian mission had already called on representatives from various countries to stage a collective walkout during Netanyahu’s address.

Netanyahu’s speech focused heavily on Iran, Gaza, Hezbollah and the defense of Israel’s military actions. The protests and walkouts before and during his address once again highlighted the ongoing diplomatic tensions surrounding Israel at the United Nations General Assembly.