Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, vowing to continue his country’s war in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed and slamming Western nations that recognized Palestinian statehood.

“We will not commit national suicide because you don’t have the guts to face down a hostile media and anti-Semitic mobs demanding Israel’s blood,” Netanyahu said in New York on Friday, referring to the recognition of Palestine by France, the U.K., Canada and others. The message to Hamas, Netanyahu said, was that “murdering Jews pays off.”

Many delegates walked out as Netanyahu prepared to speak, leaving the hall largely empty.

Israel’s longest serving leader touted the country’s military successes over Iran-backed militias and attacks on Tehran itself in the past year. He said that while Israel wanted to end the war in Gaza “as fast as possible,” it wouldn’t stop until Hamas was defeated or surrendered.

He spoke of the violence perpetrated by Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., European Union and others — on Oct. 7, 2023. That day, it attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking another 250 as hostages, with operatives recording their actions for public broadcast.

Netanyahu largely ignored the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza beyond saying that Israel was doing all it can to prevent civilian casualties. He strenuously denied his government was carrying out genocide or a policy of forced starvation.

The prime minister, who turns 76 next month, focused on the remaining hostages in Gaza. He ordered loudspeakers set up on the Gaza border and spoke briefly in Hebrew in hopes of reaching the 20 hostages thought to be alive. He also said Israeli intelligence had commandeered the cell-phone system in Gaza so that his speech was being live-streamed there.

For much of the world, the ongoing Israeli assault in Gaza is a story of Palestinians facing violence and hunger by a vengeful and much more powerful neighbor, a disproportionate response to an act of terrorism two years ago. Some 65,000 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and vast portions of the territory have been rendered uninhabitable.

As described by Netanyahu, however, the war against Hamas is a key front in a battle for Israel’s survival in the face of an Iranian-driven effort to eliminate the Jewish state and, ultimately, wage global jihad.

He said on Friday that Israel must continue its battle against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs as well as defeat Hamas to prevent another attack similar to that perpetrated on Oct. 7.

He said the reason there can’t be a Palestinian state is because the Palestinians have never accepted the legitimacy of a Jewish state next to them.

The walkout from the General Assembly when he took the podium is evidence of Israel’s growing global isolation. But Netanyahu dismissed that as a mix of anti-semitism and virtue signaling that will subside once Israel wins the war.

Then, he claimed, neighbors Syria and Lebanon could recognize Israel. He even predicted that the government in Iran will fall, and Iran and Israel will restore their former friendship.

Netanyahu has few international supporters apart from U.S. President Donald Trump, who’s embraced the Israeli government’s actions, at least so far. On Monday, Netanyahu will meet Trump in the White House where postwar Gaza is expected to dominate their discussion.

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