New York, 25 September (H.S.): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel's military actions and accused international critics of spreading what he described as falsehoods about the country during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Netanyahu said Israel had acted to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, describing the destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities as a necessary decision to protect Israel. He said Israel was also defending countries whose representatives, according to him, had criticised or opposed Israel.

Referring to the October 7, 2023 attack, Netanyahu said thousands of Palestinian terrorists entered Israel from Gaza and accused Hamas of killing 1,200 Israelis. He said Israel had since been fighting a seven-front war involving Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, militias in Iraq and Syria, and Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria.

Netanyahu credited the United States and President Donald Trump with supporting Israel during the conflict. He said American and Israeli forces had conducted joint missions over Iran and also worked together to bring back Israeli hostages.

A major part of his speech focused on what Netanyahu described as a war for truth in international and social media. He accused countries including Qatar and Turkey of spreading what he called antisemitic lies about Israel. He also rejected allegations that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, saying Israel had taken measures to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of food and medical assistance.

Netanyahu directly criticised New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of making statements and associating with individuals who, according to Netanyahu, supported Hamas or opposed Israel. He also accused several Western countries of failing to defend Israel and said they had chosen weakness and appeasement.

Turning to Iran, Netanyahu said the Iranian government was afraid of its own people and predicted that the Iranian people would eventually be free and that the current regime would fall.

He concluded by saying Israel would continue defending itself, stressing that the country had no alternative but to fight for its security and future.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar