What to know from the UN: Before Netanyahu speech, 2 leaders denounce Israeli actions to their peers

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The topics of Israel’s war with Hamas and fighting in Lebanon have dominated speeches at the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting this week. On Thursday, one side finally got the podium — including a moment of drama amid the ocean of words from the world’s leaders.

The first words from MAHMOUD ABBAS, head of the Palestinian Authority, were a single sentence repeated three times: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.” Abbas used the rostrum of the U.N. General Assembly as he typically does — to criticize Israel. But this was the first time he did so since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.

He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And he said that his government should govern post-war Gaza as part of an independent Palestinian state, a vision that Israel’s hardline government rejects.

Israel has maintained its military operations are justified and are necessary to defend itself. DANNY DANON, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, responded to Abbas’ speech within minutes with a critical assessment. “Abbas spoke for 26 minutes and did not say the word ‘Hamas’ once. Since the massacre of Oct. 7, Abbas has failed to condemn Hamas for their crimes against humanity,” he said. “Only when he stands on the U.N. platform does he talk about a peaceful solution,”

Speaking later Thursday, Lebanon’s foreign minister called for an immediate cease-fire “on all fronts.” ABDALLAH BOUHABIB called Israel’s actions “acts that are tantamount to war crimes” and warned that continued violence at his nation’s border will “transform into a black hole that will engulf international and regional peace and security.”