Dozens of delegations walk out or skip Netanyahu's UN General Assembly address

Dozens of countries' delegations either walked out of or were absent for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the United Nations General Assembly, according to reporting on the session. The scale of the response marked one of the more visible diplomatic protests seen at this year's gathering.

The absences and departures came as Netanyahu delivered remarks addressing Israel's position on regional and international issues. Diplomatic walkouts of this kind are generally used by member states to express disapproval without formally disrupting proceedings on the assembly floor.

Context behind the walkout

The scale of the walkout, described as involving dozens of delegations, reflects the depth of international division over Israeli government policy amid the ongoing regional conflict. Previous UNGA sessions have seen similar, if sometimes smaller, protest walkouts during Israeli leaders' speeches.

Analysts and diplomats often view such gestures as symbolic rather than substantive, since they do not affect the formal record of the session, but they nonetheless serve as a visible signal of the diplomatic isolation some countries seek to convey. The full list of participating delegations was not detailed in the initial coverage of the event.

Reaction to the speech, both from those who remained in the chamber and from governments that stayed away, was expected to continue developing in the days following the address.