Dozens of delegates reportedly walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began addressing the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday.

The walkout was reportedly encouraged by the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations, whose representatives were also scheduled to address the assembly later in the day.

As Netanyahu began his speech, several delegates were seen leaving the hall, while his supporters inside the venue applauded and cheered him.

Netanyahu referred to those who walked out as “phony human rights protesters” and challenged other delegates who remained in the hall.

“Where were you when the Iranian tyrants butchered and maimed tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian civilians?” he asked.

He added, “If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now.”

There was no confirmed list of all the countries whose representatives participated in the walkout at the time of reporting, although photographs from the venue showed empty seats assigned to delegates from several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Montenegro and Kyrgyzstan.

Jordan, Libya, the Marshall Islands and Mauritius also had empty seats.

However, reports indicated that some countries still had at least one representative inside the hall, making it unclear whether every empty seat represented a deliberate walkout.

During his address, Netanyahu also criticised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has publicly criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

Mamdani had released a video shortly before Netanyahu’s speech showing him planting an olive tree, a symbol associated with Palestine, at Gracie Mansion and having dinner with a Palestinian family.

Responding to the mayor, Netanyahu said, “Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can’t silence me, you can’t silence the truth.”

He added, “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”

Netanyahu also accused Mamdani and others of spreading what he described as antisemitic claims, saying such statements had “real consequences.”