Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It would be "sheer madness" for Israel to recognise a Palestinian state, Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations today, as he addressed the conflict in Gaza.

Addressing the UN's 80th General Assembly, the Israeli PM condemned countries including France and the UK for the move, and spoke of eliminating the "curse of Iran's terror axis" as he detailed Israel's operational manoeuvres against Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

He received a standing ovation from onlookers in the balcony when he finished the speech, but this was in stark contrast to rows of empty seats below, after dozens of delegates abruptly left when he took to the stage. There had also been boos and jeers - but also applause and cheers.

Hamas, designated a terror organisation by the UK, US, and EU, responded that the speech was a series of "blatant lies and contradictions" as he spoke of the group's alleged control of the Gazan population.

We've got more detail on six key takeaways from Netanyahu's address, which our US state department correspondent says was aimed to appeal to Trump-supporting Americans.

Moments after Netanyahu's speech, Trump himself weighed in once again on the conflict, suggesting "it's looking like we have a deal on Gaza", without giving further details.

That brings our live coverage to a close, but we'll keep our news story updated with any further developments.

Netanyahu is known for his hard-hitting speechespublished at 17:30 BST 26 September

17:30 BST 26 September

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

This was very much vintage Netanyahu - known for many years for the hard-hitting speeches he has made not just from this podium but in capitals the world over.

Today, he was defiant, even belligerent, as he stood up to the growing number of countries he said were siding with monsters by recognising a Palestinian state.

He began by praising Israel – hailing how after the darkest day in its history, 7 October 2023, it had now staged what he called the most stunning military comeback in history.

He went through, one after another, what Israel describes as the seven-front war - taking on the leadership of the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, and more - detailing how Israel has stood up to all of them.

In classic Netanyahu form he amplified his message with the use of visual aids - this time with multiple choice questions, and a QR code on his label linked to information about Israeli hostages.

He also announced that loudspeakers were broadcasting his speech into the Gaza Strip, even going directly, with the help of Israeli intelligence, into the cell phones of Hamas in order to make it clear Israel wanted the hostages home.

In strange timing, just as his speech ended, President Trump announced in Washington: “it’s looking like we have a deal on Gaza” – that’s the message a growing number of Israelis as well as many others, most of all in Gaza, really wanted to hear.

Tom Joyner
Live reporter

In the audience at the UN General Assembly was Ruby Chen, the father of Israeli hostage Itay Chen.

He had come to New York to hear Netanyahu speak in the hope of hearing something about the fate of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

According to the Israeli army, Itay, who was an IDF soldier and dual US-Israeli citizen, was among those killed on 7 October, and his body was taken into Gaza by Hamas. His father remains determined to find answers.

When Netanyahu read out a list of Israeli captives, his son’s name was not among them. As we reported earlier, Netanyahu was only reading the names of those believed to still be alive.

“Listening to his speech, he started naming the 20 hostages that are in Gaza and did not mention my son, showing me no respect,” Chen tells the BBC World Service’s OS programme.

Feeling wronged, Chen then got up and left to join the other protesters outside.

“It is the time to reflect on the two years of this endless war, with too much suffering. And there has been too much pain on both sides,” he says.

Image source, Reuters

Hamas has responded to Netanyahu's UN address in a lengthy statement on Telegram.

Netanyahu delivered a "misleading" speech that contained a series of "blatant lies and contradictions" says Hamas, which is a proscribed terror group in the US, UK and EU.

Lies will not change the truth, the group says in a Telegram statement, adding that it feels the world has become "more aware" of what Israel is doing in the Strip - which Hamas characterises as an "occupation" based on "lies, misinformation, and systematic killing".

The response ends by calling on the world to stop the killing in Gaza and force Israel to withdraw from the territory, allow food and medicine to enter, and complete steps towards recognising a Palestinian state.

Tom Joyner
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

As Netanyahu’s speech began in New York, loudspeakers stationed on the Gaza border in southern Israel blasted his words into the Strip.

But not all Gazans heard them. And for those who did, not everyone paid it any notice.

“We can hear voices from afar, but with the noise of the crowd and the large number of people, it was unclear,” said Fadi, a Gazan speaking to the BBC World Service’s OS programme.

“What does he gain by broadcasting his speech forcibly to the besieged civilians inside the tents, except to further humiliate them?", Fadi asked.

Others like 26-year-old Hanan couldn’t hear anything from where she was in Rafah, in Gaza's south.

Apart from seeing photos of loudspeakers in Israeli media, she couldn’t have listened to Netanyahu’s speech even if she wanted to.

“There was no broadcast here. No loudspeakers, nothing,” she tells OS. “Honestly, if they really tried to put speakers on trucks and drive around Gaza, I think they’d be too scared.”

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from Times Square

Among the protesters in Times Square chanting "Free Palestine" during Netanyahu's speech was Rabbi Yitzchok Deutsch.

He says Netanyahu should not be in New York speaking at the United Nations.

"We are here to say he doesn't speak in our name. He is using our religion to justify his crimes," he adds.

Rabbi Deutsch is of the view that many Jewish people around the world agree that the war in Gaza should stop. He says while he condemns the Hamas attacks of 7 October, peace cannot be achieved without addressing the "root cause" of the conflict.

Netanyahu's speech was geared towards Trump-supporting Americanspublished at 16:13 BST 26 September

16:13 BST 26 September

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Most of Netanyahu’s speech was targeting an American audience - and more specifically, Trump’s Maga base.

Netanyahu repeatedly suggested Israelis and Americans shared a plight of the same existential threat, including references to 9/11 and holding up a card citing extremists who shout “death to America” - the subtext being Israel was doing the “dirty work” of taking out their shared enemies.

He referenced Taylor Force, an American whose killing in Tel Aviv in 2016 led to an act of Congress barring US payments to the Palestinian Authority.

And in an even more targeted appeal to Maga and Trump’s evangelical Christian support base - he falsely claimed Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem were better protected under Israeli military occupation than under limited Palestinian self-governance.

This was all meant for Trump-supporting Americans - showing that the Israeli leader is likely aware of polling that suggests the levels of support for Israel that has historically been seen in the US, has more recently been haemorrhaging due to Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Today, he used his speech to try to stem it.

Image source, Reuters

Some 200 miles (320km) away from New York, Donald Trump tells reporters outside the White House "it's looking like we have a deal on Gaza".

"I think it's a deal that will get the hostages back, that will end the war, it's going to be peace, I think we have a deal," Trump says.

We'll bring you more on this when we have it.

As we reported earlier, Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly that his address was being broadcast to those in the Gaza Strip.

In the video below, you can see loudspeakers set up on the Israel-Gaza border, playing the section of his address about the nations that recently recognised a Palestinian state.

Image source, Reuters

There was disruption in the hall before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could even begin his speech, as dozens of people walked out while others applauded.

Here are six main takeaways from his UN address:

• Netanyahu immediately honed in on "the curse of Iran's terror axis", which he suggested enveloped the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas
• He touted some of his country's successes in targeting these groups over the past year, reeling off names of leaders who he said are now "gone"
• After speakers were set up along the Gaza border to broadcast his speech into the territory, Netanyahu addressed the remaining hostages directly, and pointed to a QR code on his lapel which he said contained the reason "why we must fight, and why we must win"
• The Israeli leader referred numerous times to placards, with one asking: "Who shouts death to America?" followed by multiple choice answers
• Netanyahu denied targeting civilians in Gaza, and said his country has dropped "millions of leaflets" urging the territory's population to evacuate. This is in contrast to a UN report which found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza
• Rounding off his speech, Netanyahu criticised the UK and France's decision to recognise a Palestinian state, calling the move "sheer madness"

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from New York

Scores of protesters gathered in Times Square as Netanyahu delivered his speech.

Netanyahu used speech to address war criticismspublished at 15:20 BST 26 September

15:20 BST 26 September

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

Benjamin Netanyahu first and foremost, wanted to speak directly to the American people with this address.

Making references to 9/11, thanking President Trump directly - which brought applause from the US delegation - and saying that Trump is on his side when it comes to dealing with Iran.

Netanyahu has constantly tried to frame the war in Gaza as one of good versus evil, so he used his address to hit back at the UN and the overwhelming majority of countries who are united in wanting to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas, an end to settlement building, and Palestinian statehood.

He made several claims that the UN has fought back against, including the amount of aid going into Gaza, which the UN says is not enough.

He also said that Israel is not targeting civilians. The UN stresses Israel’s ongoing strikes on the strip are completely disproportionate, and a UN commission of inquiry has found Israel is committing genocide, which is also the view of some human rights experts in Israel. Israel denies this.

The UN has stressed that because of these competing narratives, Israel should allow international journalists into Gaza - currently, news outlets rely on local reporters within the Strip, because Israel does not allow foreign media, including BBC News, to send journalists in.

Netanyahu is trying to hit back at what the UN has been saying, while reframing Israel's mission as a fight against terrorism and "Iran's terror axis".

Jonathan Csapo
Reporting from New York

Netanyahu left the stage to a standing ovation from a large group of observers in the balcony above the General Assembly hall.

Some pumped their fists in the air in support of the Israeli PM - a stark contrast to the official delegate seats in the main hall below, which were largely empty after dozens of members walked out in protest when Netanyahu took to the stage.

Image source, Getty Images

Netanyahu now reacts to the decision of countries including France and the UK to recognise a Palestinian state, calling it "national suicide" for Israel.

It's "sheer madness, it's insane and we won't do it", the Israeli PM says.

And after that, his address is finished. The Israeli delegation give Netanyahu a standing ovation.

Netanyahu is now talking about accusations that Israel is "deliberately targeting civilians".

"The opposite is true," he says, stating that Israel has dropped "millions of leaflets and sent millions of texts" to get civilians to evacuate Gaza City.

Meanwhile, "Hamas implants itself in mosques, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings" he says, to force civilians to "stay in harm's way" - "often threatening them at gunpoint".

Moving on to allegations of genocide levied at Israel, Netanyahu asks if a country committing genocide would plead with a population to get out of harm's way: "Did the Nazis ask the Jews to leave?"

He then rejects accusations that Israel is starving people in Gaza on purpose. If there are Gazans that don't have enough food it is because Hamas "steals it, hoards it and sells it", he says.

For context: Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel has committed a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. It cited statements by Israeli leaders, and the pattern of conduct by Israeli forces, as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel’s foreign ministry denounced the report as “distorted and false”.

Alexander Lederman
Reporting from New York

I’m in a booth right above the US delegation.

As Netanyahu praised President Trump and spoke of the assassination attempts against him, those seated at the table broke out into applause.

"Lay down your arms," Netanyahu tells the "remaining" leaders of Hamas. "Let my people go" and "free the hostages," he says.

"If you do you will live, if you don't, Israel will hunt you down," he threatens.

Then, he brings out more placards, and does a "pop quiz".

The first reads: "Who shouts death to America?", with the answers reading: "a) Iran, b) Hamas, c) Hezbollah, d) Houthis, e) all the above".

Shouts could be heard in the hall, and Netanyahu ticks the option for "e) all of the above".

Netanyahu further says that President Trump "understands better than any other leader that Israel and America face a common threat".

He adds that in the wake of the 7 October attack, many leaders supported Israel, but that support has since "evaporated".

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Netanyahu then suggests that much of the world doesn't remember the attacks of 7 October 2023.

"But we remember," he adds, before pointing to a QR code on a badge on his jacket, which he says contains the reason "why we fight, and why we must win".

Netanyahu then goes on to describe some of the events of 7 October, saying that some of those taken hostage were Holocaust survivors, as well as grandparents and their grandchildren.

He says Israel has brought home 207 of these hostages, adding that 20 of the 48 remaining in Gaza are alive.

He reads the names of these 20 from a list, before speaking directly to the hostages through loudspeakers the Israeli military has set up on the Gaza border.

"We have not forgotten you," he says, adding that Israel will not rest "until we bring all of you home".

As a reminder, the recent conflict in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. At least 65,502 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Netanyahu says last year he stood at the podium and showed a map, entitled "The Curse", which he brings out again now. He says it shows "the curse of Iran's terror axis".

"This axis threatened the peace of the entire world, the stability of our region and the very existence of my country Israel," Netanyahu says.

He claims over the past year Israel "hammered" the Houthis, destroyed "the bulk of the Hamas terror machine" and "crippled Hezbollah".

He adds that "most importantly [...] we devastated Iran's atomic weapons and ballistic missiles programme".

Tapping on countries against the map, Netanyahu reels through different leaders, including Hamas's Yahya Sinwar, Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah and Iran's top atomic scientists. All "gone", he says.

Image source, Reuters

As Netanyahu takes to the stage, dozens of people file out of the room in protest, with others applauding.

The chair repeatedly says “please, order in the hall” and bangs his gavel.