Netanyahu Calls October 7 'Darkest Day in Israel's History' in UN General Assembly Speech, Faces Walkouts and Effigy Protest

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, September 24, 2026, described October 7, 2023 as 'the darkest day in Israel's history,' saying Hamas terrorists went house to house shooting Israeli civilians point-blank 'with fiendish glee and sadistic joy' while livestreaming the killings. He said 'our enemies expected us to collapse. Instead, we rose and fought like lions,' citing military gains against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran over the three years since the attack, and said continuing violence against Israelis — particularly in the West Bank — goes uncovered by international media. Delegates staged a walkout as his speech began, prompting Netanyahu to invite any remaining 'moral cowards' to leave; outside the UN, protesters hanged a Netanyahu effigy in a noose and chanted 'Netanyahu in a bunker, we will put you six feet under.'