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Expected to Blame Hamas for Ongoing War, Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza; Netanyahu: 48 Hostages Remain in Gaza, 20 are alive; Netanyahu: World Must Stand with Israel to Overcome Threats; Israeli PM Speaks to U.N. after Dozen Walk Out; Netanyahu Speech Being Played on Speakers Across Gaza Border; Netanyahu: Israel Must "Finish the Job" Against Hamas. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 26, 2025 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, any moment now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take to the podium at the U.N.

General Assembly. He will speak in the face of intense international pressure over Israel's war in Gaza and a wave of international recognition

of a Palestinian State.

Add to that a red line on any Israeli annexation of the West Bank from his strongest ally. Here's what the U.S. President had to say about that on

Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow it. Not going to

happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you speak with Netanyahu about this?

TRUMP: Yeah, but I'm not going to allow it. Whether I spoke to him or not, I did, but I'm not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank. There's been

enough. It's time to stop now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Mr. Netanyahu's isolation apparent in another way. On Thursday, his plane to New York took a securities route to avoid Europe. In

the event, it had to make an emergency landing in a country where he faces an ICC arrest warrant.

Well, as for the speech we are about to hear, the Israeli military plans to broadcast that across Gaza, according to two Israeli officials. Oren

Liebmann is with us from Jerusalem. What do we know about this speech and this surprising move to broadcast it to the people of Gaza Oren?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: This is almost a surprise development we learned about only in the last few hours here where Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to set up speakers. At first, from what we understood from two Israeli officials, it was both

inside and outside of Gaza when the Prime Minister's Office finally acknowledged that this was part of the plan.

They said it would only be outside of Gaza on trucks around the Gaza border. And in fact, if you look at this video from Reuters, you might be

able to hear it as well. It seems that those speakers are right now playing music, as we should be, just moments away from Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu speech at the U.N. General Assembly here.

Now, having watched years of Netanyahu's speeches at the U.N. there's always what he -- what I would call some sort of stick, some sort of way to

make a headline and get attention. And we've seen that throughout the years. Back in 2009 Netanyahu spoke a day after the Iranian President as a

symbol of the threat he viewed from the Iranian President, he held up plans for Auschwitz, Birkenau, the country concentration camp in Poland.

A few years later, in 2012 he held up his infamous picture of a cartoon bomb to represent how he viewed Iran's nuclear program. In 2015 he had

something like 40-some-odd seconds of silence, which he used to represent the world's silence on Iran. And then in 2018 not at the U.N. but at the

Munich Security Conference, he held up a piece of an Iranian drone.

So, he has repeatedly used some sort of means, some sort of way, to try to get attention. And perhaps that's what we're seeing here. Of course, we'll

find out in the speech itself. Netanyahu has also tried to speak directly to the people of Hamas. I'm sorry, the people of Gaza, telling them to

overthrow Hamas.

We've seen him try to speak directly to the people of Iran, telling them to overthrow the Ayatollah. Clearly, this hasn't worked, and yet, it's what

Netanyahu is going to be doing once again. It's also unclear if this is even going to be broadcast in Arabic, so it's possible that most, or much

of the population of Gaza won't even understand it or be able to hear it.

Still, it is a bizarre way, a bizarre move, frankly, from Israel, going into this speech, in which a lot of it will be a focus on, frankly,

Israel's anger at the countries recognizing a State of Palestine. We certainly also expect to hear quite a bit about Iran, and then what we have

seen from Netanyahu in recent years during his speeches, is lavishing praise on President Donald Trump and the approaches he has taken,

especially when it comes to Israel.

ANDERSON: Yeah. And you and I have been speaking about exactly that this week. This speech will be important, and we will be waiting for it and

taking it live. What perhaps is even more important is the opportunity that Benjamin Netanyahu will get once again with Donald Trump.

We expect a scheduled meeting on Monday. And we have heard from Donald Trump just in the past 24 hours with a very sort of definitive when it

comes to potential Israeli annexation or moves, he has said, I'm not going to allow it.

[09:05:00]

How do you read the position for Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives in the states and gets set to meet with the U.S. President?

LIEBERMANN: To me, there were two interesting things about the sound bite you played just a moment ago from President Donald Trump. First was what

seem to be a very clear and broad red line saying he's not going to allow annexation of any parts of the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu's far right ministers and his government are pushing for that, and at least from what we see right now, Trump, after having met Arab

ministers, diplomats and leaders, has taken that completely off the table. So that is at least a blow to the wishes of parts of Netanyahu's right-wing

government.

But right at the end of that, of that quote from Trump, was another statement where he made it clear, at least in that moment, that he is

getting frustrated.

ANDERSON: All right, I'm going to stop you there Oren. I'm just seeing the Israeli Prime Minister getting to the podium at the U.N. General Assembly.

Let's listen in. Firstly, we are seeing people leaving the room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please. Order in the hall. Please order in the hall. Please order in the hall. Please order in the hall and please be seated.

Please order in the hall.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Mr. President, the families of our dear hostages languishing in the dungeons of Gaza. Ladies and

gentlemen, last year, I stood at this podium and I showed this map, this map. It shows the curse

of Iran's terror axis.

This axis threatened the peace of the entire world. It threatened the stability of our region and the very existence of my country, Israel. Iran,

was rapidly developing a massive nuclear weapons program and a massive ballistic missile program. These were meant not only to destroy Israel.

They were meant also to threaten the United States and blackmail nations everywhere. From Gaza Yahya Sinwar, dispatched waves of Hamas terrorists.

They stormed into Israel on October 7th and committed acts of unspeakable savagery. From Lebanon Khasan Nasrallah had launched thousands of missiles

and rockets at our cities, terrorizing our citizens.

In Syria, the murderous dictator Assad hosted Iran's forces tightening a noose of death around our throats. In Yemen, the Houthis launched ballistic

missiles at Israel, while choking global trade at the mouth of the Red Sea. So, what's happened over the past year?

We've hammered the Houthis, including yesterday. We crushed the bulk of Hamas' terror machine. We crippled Hezbollah, taking out most of its

leaders and much of its weapons arsenal. You remember those beepers, the pagers? We paged Hezbollah and believe me; they got the message.

[09:10:00]

And thousands of terrorists, thousands of terrorists, dropped to the ground. We destroyed Assad's armaments in Syria. We deterred Iran's Shiite

militias in Iraq and, most importantly, and above anything else that I could say to you that we did in this past year, in this past decade, we

devastated Iran's atomic weapons and ballistic missiles programs.

So, here's where things stand today. Half the Houthi leadership in Yemen gone. Yahya Sinwar in Gaza gone. Sorry, Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon gone.

The Assad regime in Syria gone. Those missiles, those militias in Iraq, well, they're still deterred, and their leaders, if they attack Israel,

will also be gone.

And for Iran's top military commanders and his top atomic bomb scientist, well, they're gone too. Israel's 12-day war with Iran, which I renamed

Operation Rising Lion that's from the Bible. This 12-day war will go down in the annals of military history. Our daring pilots neutralized Iran's

missile defenses and took control of the skies over Tehran.

And you saw this, Israeli fighter pilots and American B2 pilots bombed Iran's nuclear enrichment sites. I want to thank President Trump for his

bold and decisive action. President Trump and I -- President Trump and I promised to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and we delivered

on that promise.

We removed an existential threat to Iran, to Israel, rather and a mortal threat to the civilized world. We lifted a dark cloud that could have

claimed millions and millions of lives. But ladies and gentlemen, we must remain vigilant. We must remain absolutely clear minded and vigilant.

We must not allow Iran to rebuild its military nuclear capacities. Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium, these stockpiles must be eliminated. And

tomorrow, U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran must be snapped back. Thanks to the resolve of our people, the courage of our soldiers and the

bold decisions we took.

Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning military comebacks in history. But we're not done yet. The final elements,

the final remnants of Hamas, are holed up in Gaza City. They vow to repeat the atrocities of October 7th, again and again and again, no matter how

diminished their forces. That is why Israel must finish the job. That is why we want to do so as fast as possible.

Ladies and gentlemen, much of the world no longer remembers October 7th, but we remember. Israel remembers October 7th. On that day -- well, I'll

tell you, you can remember October 7th too. You see this large pin here? It's a QR code. What I ask you to do is hold up your phone, zoom in, and

you too will see why we fight and why we must win. It's all in here.

On October 7th, Hamas carried out the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

[09:15:00]

They slaughtered 1200 innocent people, including over 40 Americans and foreign nationals from dozens of countries represented here. They beheaded

men, they raped women. They burnt babies alive. They burnt babies alive in front of their parents. What monsters?

And these monsters took them more than 250 people hostages and those included Holocaust survivors, grandmothers, grandmothers and their

grandchildren. Who takes hostage, grandmothers and grandchildren. Hamas does. So far, we've brought home 207 of these hostages, but 48 still remain

in the dungeons of Gaza.

20 of them are alive, starved, tortured, deprived of any daylight, deprived of humanity. These are the names of the 20 living hostages, Matan Angrest,

Gali Berman Brothers, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, Ariel Cunio and David Cunio, another pair of brothers, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Evyatar

David. You saw, you saw the picture of Evyatar David. Emaciated, forced to dig his own grave. Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kupershtein,

Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I want to do something I've never done before. I want to speak from this forum directly to those hostages through

loudspeakers. I've surrounded Gaza with massive loudspeakers connected to this microphone in the hope that our dear hostages will hear my message,

and I'll say it first in Hebrew and then in English.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Our brave heroes this is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you, live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you, not even for a second.

The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter and we will not rest until we bring all of you, home.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks to special efforts by Israeli intelligence, my words are now also being carried. They're streamed live to the cell phones

of Gazans so to the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say, lay down your arms. Let my people go free the

hostages, all of them the whole 48 free the hostages now. If you do, you will live. If you don't, Israel will hunt you down.

Ladies and gentlemen, if Hamas agrees to our demands, the war could end right now. Gaza would be demilitarized. Israel would retain overriding

security control and a peaceful civilian authority would be established by Gazans and others committed to peace with Israel. And of course, you

understand that the war in Gaza has affected every Israeli.

But I'm sure there are people in New York or in London or in Melbourne and elsewhere, who are probably thinking, what does all of this have to do with

me?

[09:20:00]

And the answer everything, because our enemies are your enemies. So, let's do something else first at the U.N. Let's do a pop quiz, and raise your

hand if you know the answer. Here's the first question. Who shouts death to America? Is it A, Iran, B, Hamas, C, Hezbollah, D, the Houthis or E, all of

the above? All of the above, correct. All of the above.

Second question, who has murdered Americans and Europeans in cold blood? Is it A, Al Qaeda, B, Hamas, C, Hezbollah, D, Iran or E, all of the above?

Correct again.

So, here's the point I wanted to make. Our enemies hate all of us with equal venom. They want to drag the modern world back to the past, to a dark

age of violence, fanaticism and terror. I think many of you are already feeling in your own societies the radical Islamist surge. You know? I'm

sure you do.

You know deep down that Israel, Israel is fighting your fight. So, I want to tell you a secret behind closed doors, many of the leaders who publicly

condemn us privately thank us. They tell me how much they value Israel's superb intelligence services that have prevented time and again terrorist

attacks in their capitals, time and again, saving countless lives.

General George Keegan, Former Head of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, once said, if the United States had to gather on its own the intelligence that

Israel gives us, we would have to establish five CIA's, five CIA's. This past June, when Israel struck Iran's nuclear facilities, German Chancellor

Mertz admitted the truth.

He said, Israel is doing the dirty work for all of us. President Trump understands better than any other leader that Israel and America face a

common threat. He showed the world that when Iran and its proxies murder Americans, take Americans hostage, shout death to America, burn American

flags and try to assassinate the President of the United States. Tried to assassinate the President of the United States, not once, but twice.

He showed them there is a price to pay for all that. But regrettably, many leaders who are represented in this hall, they send a very different

message. Sure, in the days immediately following October 7th, many of them supported Israel, but that support quickly evaporated when Israel did what

any self-respecting nation would do in the wake of such a savage attack, we fought back.

Now just imagine, just sit back for a second and imagine an attack against America proportioned to the attack against Israel on October 7th, imagine a

regime, a terror regime, dispatching thousands of terrorists to invade the United States. They massacre 40,000 Americans. They take 10,000 Americans

hostage.

What do you think America would do? Do you think America would leave that regime standing? You don't take that. No way, not a chance. The United

States would wipe out that terror regime and ensure that such savagery would never threaten America again. This is precisely what Israel is doing

in Gaza.

We're wiping out the terror regime of Hamas and ensuring that this savagery will never threaten Israel again. That's what we are doing. That's what any

self-respecting government would do. Yet and it's a yet that I'm -- I'm sorry to say here.

[09:25:00]

Yet, over time, many world leaders buckled. They buckled under the pressure of a biased media, radical Islamist constituencies and anti-Semitic mobs.

There's a familiar saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Well, for many countries here, when the going got tough, you caved. And here's the shameful result of that collapse. For much of the past two

years, Israel has had to fight a seven-front war against barbarism, with many of your nations opposing us.

Astoundingly, as we fight the terrorists who murdered many of your citizens, you are fighting us. You condemn us. You embargo us. And you wage

political and legal warfare. It's called lawfare against us. I say to the representatives of those nations. This is not an indictment of Israel. It's

an indictment of you.

It's an indictment of weakness leaders who appease evil rather than support a nation whose brave soldiers guard you from the barbarians at the gate.

They're already penetrating your gates. When will you learn you can't appease your way out of jihad, and you won't escape the Islamist storm by

sacrificing Israel to overcome that storm, you have to stand with Israel.

But that's not what you're doing. As the prophets of the Israel foretold in the Bible, you've turned good into evil and evil into good. Now I want to

drill down on this. Take the false charge of genocide. Israel is accused of deliberately targeting civilians.

Ladies and gentlemen, the opposite is true. The head of war -- the head of urban warfare studies, Colonel John Spencer. He's perhaps the world's

greatest expert on urban warfare. And he says Israel is applying more measures to minimize civilian casualties than any military in history, and

because we're doing that, the ratio of noncombatant to combatant casualties is less than two to one in Gaza.

That's an astoundingly low ratio, lower than NATO's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, especially when you consider that Gaza is one of the most densely

populated urban areas on Earth. It has hundreds of miles of terror tunnels underground, and it has countless terror towers above ground and thousands

of terrorists embedded in the tunnels and in these towers in civilian areas.

If you want to see what measures Israel takes to avoid civilian casualties in this war, just look at what we're doing now in Gaza City. The last Hamas

stronghold, one of the two last strongholds. For three weeks, Israel dropped millions of leaflets, sent millions of text messages and made

countless phone calls urging civilians to leave Gaza City before our military moves in.

At the same time, Hamas implants itself in mosques, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings and tries to force those civilians not to leave, to

stay in harm's way, and it often threatens them at gunpoint if they try to do so. For Israel, every civilian casualty is a tragedy. For Hamas it's a

strategy.

Hamas uses civilians as human shields and as props in its sick propaganda war in Israel against Israel, a propaganda war that the Western media buys

hook line and sinker. Now, despite Hamas' threats, close to 700,000 Gazans, almost three quarters of a million, have already heeded our calls and moved

to safe zones.

Now I want to ask you a simple question, a simple logical question, would a country committing genocide plead with the civilian population it is

supposedly targeting to get out of harm's way? Would we tell them get out if we want to commit genocide. We're trying to get them out, and Hamas is

trying to keep them in.

And this charge is so baseless that comparison to genocide, wholesale slaughter of populations. What did the Nazis ask the Jews to leave? Kindly,

leave go out. Did others you want me to name all the genocidal leaders of history just go one by one.

[09:30:00]

Did anyone do this? Did they say get out so we can come in? Of course, not. So, the truth has been turned on its head. Hamas a genocidal terrorist

organization whose charter calls for the murder of all Jews on the planet. This genocidal organization is given a pass. It's barely mentioned.

While Israel, which does everything it can to get civilians out of harm's way, Israel is put in the dock. What a joke? You want to hear another one?

Israel is accused of deliberately, deliberately starving the people of Gaza when Israel is deliberately feeding the people of Gaza.

Since the beginning of the war, Israel has led into Gaza more than 2 million tons of food and aid. That's one ton of aid for every man, woman

and child in Gaza, nearly 3000 calories per person per day. Some starvation policy. If there are Gazans who don't have enough food, it's because Hamas

is stealing it. Hamas steals it, hoards it, and sells it at exorbitant prices to fight its war machine.

Last month, even the U.N. not exactly a supporter of Israel. You're supposed to laugh by the way. Last month, even the U.N. admitted that Hamas

and other armed groups looted 85 percent of the trucks. That's why you have deprivation.

Those who peddled the blood libels of genocide and starvation against Israel are no better than those who peddled blood libels against the Jews

in the middle-ages when they falsely accused us of poisoning wells, spreading plague and using the blood of children to bake Passover Matz.

Anti-Semitism dies hard. In fact, it doesn't die at all. It just keeps coming back with its libelous lies, refurbished, regurgitated over and over

again. And I want to tell you something else, these anti-Semitic lies, they have consequences.

In recent months, Jews have been assaulted in Canada, Austria, or rather, Australia, Britain, France, the Netherlands and elsewhere. Here in America,

an elderly Holocaust survivor was burned to death in Colorado, and a beautiful young couple from the Israeli Embassy in Washington was brutally

gunned down right in front of the Holocaust Museum there.

Thankfully, President Trump's administration is forceful -- forcefully fighting the scourge of anti-Semitism, and every government here should

follow its lead. But instead, many do the opposite. They actually reward, reward the worst anti-Semites on Earth.

This week, the leaders of France, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries unconditionally recognized a Palestinian State. They did so after

the horrors committed by Hamas on October 7th, horrors praised on that day by nearly 90 percent of the Palestinian population.

Let me say that again, nearly 90 percent of Palestinians supported the attack on October 7th, it's not supported only they celebrated, they danced

on the rooftops. They threw candies. That's woes, both in Gaza and in Judea, Samaria, the West Bank, as you call it. And it's just the way they

celebrated, another horror 9/11.

They danced on the rooftops, they cheered, they threw candy. You know what message the leaders who recognize the Palestinian State this week sent to

the Palestinians? It's a very clear message. Murdering Jews pays off. Well, I have a message for these leaders, when the most savage terrorists on

Earth are effusively praising your decision.

You didn't do something right. You did something wrong, horribly wrong. Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against

innocent people everywhere.

[09:35:00]

It will be a mark of shame on all of you. But wait a minute, Mr. Prime Minister, they tell me, wait a minute. We believe in a two-state solution,

where the Jewish state of Israel will live side by side in peace with the Palestinian state.

There's only one problem with that. The Palestinians, they don't believe in this solution. They never have. They don't want a state next to Israel.

They want a Palestinian State instead of Israel, and that's why every time they were offered a Palestinian State, but were required to end the

conflict with Israel and recognize a Jewish state, every time, over the decades, they turned it down.

And that is why every time they were given territory; they used it to attack us. In fact, they effectively had a Palestinian State in Gaza. So,

what did they do with that state? Peace, coexistence? No. They attacked us time and time again, totally unprovoked. They fired rockets into our

cities.

They murdered our children. They turned Gaza into a terror base from which they committed the October 7th massacre. So, here's the uncomfortable

truth, the persistent Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state in any boundary is what has driven this conflict for over a century, it is still

driving it.

It's not the absence of a Palestinian State; it's the presence and existence of a Jewish State. And I find it amazing, amazing that the

foreign chancelleries and the ministries and all those who pontificate about this and the leaders, how can they not see this basic truth when it

is repeated again and again and again ad nauseum?

And I want to say something else; this rejection of a Jewish State not only applies to Hamas; it also applies to the so called moderate Palestinian

Authority. You should know that the Palestinian Authority pays terrorists to slay Jews. The more Jews the terrorists slay, the more the Palestinian

Authority pays.

The Palestinian Authority names its government buildings, its public squares, its schools after the mass murderers of Jews, which they glorify

as martyrs. They pay and glorify not just the killer of Jews, but also killers of Christians, Christians like Taylor Force, an American veteran

who was brutally murdered in Israel by Palestinian terrorists.

But, but, but again, but that I hear from the Western leaders, they tell me the PA promised us it will reform, and I know this time Prime Minister, it

will be different. Yeah, right. We've heard these promises for decades. They always promise. They never deliver.

Because, you see, the Palestinian Authority is corrupt to the core. They haven't held elections in 20 years. They use the same textbooks as Hamas,

exactly the same textbooks. They teach their children to hate Jews and destroy the Jewish State, and Christians don't fare much better.

When Bethlehem, Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, was under Israeli control, 80 percent of its residents were Christians. But since the PA took

control, that number has dwindled to under 20 percent. These are the people you want to give a state to. What you're doing is giving the ultimate

reward to intolerant fanatics who perpetrated and supported the October 7 massacre?

Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7th, is like giving Al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September

11th. This is sheer madness. It's insane, and we won't do it.

So, here's another message to those Western leaders, Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats. We will not commit national

suicide because you don't have the guts to face down hostile media and anti-Semitic mobs demanding Israel's blood.

[09:40:00]

And I want you to grasp something else which is also distorted in the media. I say this not only in my name or the name of my government, but on

behalf of all the people of Israel, last year, there was a vote in the Knesset our parliament, whether or not to oppose the imposition of a

Palestinian State.

You want to guess what the results were out of 120 members of our parliament, 99 voted against, and only nine supported. That's over 90

percent it's not a fringe group. It's not the prime minister who himself is extreme, or he's held hostage by extreme parties to his right, it's over 90

percent of Israelis.

My opposition to a Palestinian State is not simply my policies or my government's policy, it's the policy of the state and people of the State

of Israel. Western Leaders may have buckled under the pressure, and I guarantee you one thing, Israel won't. Israel's victories over the Iranian

-- thank you. I know you won't, too. That's good.

Israel's victories over the Iranian terror axis have opened up possibilities for peace that were unthinkable two years ago. Take Syria for

decades, the very idea of peace between Israel and Syria seemed unimaginable. Well, no more. Today, we have begun serious negotiations with

the new Syrian government.

I believe an agreement can be reached that respects Syria's sovereignty and protects both Israeli security and the security of the minorities in the

region, including the Druze minority from the founding of Israel, Jews and Druzes have been brothers in arms.

We have fought together. We've bled together. We built our lives together. When I was a young commander in Israel's Special Forces, my own life was

saved by the invaluable advice given to me by a great friend, Salim Shufi, a heroic Druze IDF veteran, and that's why I couldn't sit idly by, nor

could Israel sit idly by while the Jews were being slaughtered by jihadists.

And I instructed our forces to stop the massacre, which they promptly did. Peace between Israel and Lebanon is possible as well. I call on the

Lebanese Government to also begin direct negotiations with Israel. I commend it for its declared aim to disarm Hezbollah. But we need more than

words.

If Lebanon takes genuine and sustained action to disarm Hezbollah, I am sure we can achieve a sustainable peace. Of course, until that happens, we

will take whatever action we need to defend ourselves and to maintain the conditions of the ceasefire which was established in Lebanon.

Our goal is not merely to monitor Hezbollah's actions, but to prevent them from violating the ceasefire and attacking us at any time. But I'm sure

that if the Lebanese Government persists in its goal of disarming Hezbollah, peace will come very vaguely and very readily. Victory over

Hezbollah has made peace possible with our two neighbors, our two Arab neighbors in the north.

Victory over Hamas will make peace possible with nations throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Our victory would lead to a dramatic extension and

expansion of the historic Abraham Accords, which President Trump brokered between Arab leaders and myself five years ago.

And I took note, as I'm sure you did too, of the encouraging words spoken here by the President of Indonesia. This is the country with the largest

Muslim population of all nations, and it's also a sign of what could come. Forward looking Arabs and Muslim leaders know that cooperating with Israel

will provide them with groundbreaking Israeli technologies, including in medicine and science in agriculture and water in defense and AI and so many

other fields.

[09:45:00]

I believe that in the coming years, the Middle East will look dramatically different. Many of those who wage war on Israel today will be gone

tomorrow. Brave peacemakers will take their place and nowhere, nowhere will this be truer than in Iran. The long-suffering Iranian people will regain

their freedom.

They will make Iran great again. And our two ancient peoples, our two ancient people, the people of Israel and the people of Iran, will restore a

friendship that will benefit the entire world.

Ladies and gentlemen, the horrors that happened on one dark day, October 7th. Those horrors happened countless times during the centuries of my

people's exiles among the nations. Jewish blood was cheap. Jews were killed with impunity. We had to beg others to defend us. The rise of Israel did

not mean that the attempts to destroy us would end.

It meant that we could fight back against those attempts, and that is exactly what Israel has done since October 7th. Our sons and daughters

fought like lions. Our brave soldiers donned their uniforms and rushed into battle. They were armed with the dreams of the 100 generations of Jews who

came before them.

The dream of living as a free people in the land of Israel, our beloved homeland for more than 3000 years. The dreams of living in our own

independent state, the dream of having an army to defend ourselves, and the dream of being a light unto the nations, a beacon of progress, ingenuity,

innovation for the benefit of all humanity.

On October 7th, the enemies of Israel tried to extinguish that light. Two years later, the resolve of Israel and the strength of Israel burned

brighter than ever, with God's help, that strength and that resolve would lead us to a speedy victory and to a brilliant future of prosperity and

peace. Thank you very much.

ANDERSON: You've been listening to Benjamin Netanyahu at the UNGA. Before he started, many delegates left the room in protest, and so to a near empty

room, Netanyahu started by touting Israel's operations against Iran over the past year and its proxies Israel, he said, has rebounded from its

darkest day, October the 7th. But it is not done yet, he says.

And he vows that Israel will finish the job of eliminating Hamas. And he called out those nations that have recognized a Palestinian State as,

quote, disgraceful. It's a mark of shame he said, we will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats. He spoke for more than 40 minutes.

And during that time, he suggested that world leaders have simply buckled in their support for Israel when the going got tough, he said, you caved.

Let me get you to Jeremy Diamond, who is joining us today from Doha, where he conducted an extensive, wide-ranging interview with a senior Hamas

leader.

There stand by, if you will there Jeremy. Oren Liebmann joining us from Jerusalem, our Jerusalem Bureau Chief and our International Editor, Nic

Robertson with me as well. Jeremy, let me sorry, Oren, let me start with you as the Jerusalem Bureau Chief, what did you make of what we just heard

from the Israeli Leader?

LIEBERMANN: Frankly, I think the speech was in many ways, largely predictable. It was exactly what we expected him to talk about. He began by

talking about Iran and its proxies in the region. He held up a map of the region, and then came back to that map a short time later, sort of ticking

off the Iranian proxies that Israel has attacked and largely decapitated around the Middle East.

He then talked about October 7th extensively, and accused countries of forgetting the atrocities of October 7th. He spent quite a bit of time

there. He also focused on what we spoke about right before his speech Becky.

[09:50:00]

And that is the speakers that Israel has set up around Gaza as Israel tries to broadcast the speech, apparently, towards Gazans, many of whom perhaps

don't speak English, but also to the hostages who are still held there, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, unclear if there's any indication, they

were actually able to hear but that's something he talked about for a bit.

He then criticized the countries that have recognized a State of Palestine, as we have seen, not only from the foreign ministry, but from other Israeli

officials. They claim this is a reward for terror and a reward to Hamas, unconditionally recognizing Netanyahu says is what they were doing, and

yet, countries like France and others have made clear that Hamas is a terrorist organization that has to disarm and cannot have a future role in

the governance of Gaza.

He lavished praise on President Donald Trump at several points, saying it was Trump leading the way against Iran in the region. Trump who had opened

up the Abraham Accords and led the normalization on the issue of regional relationships. He talked specifically about Syria and Lebanon.

It was worth noting the possibilities he talked about with Syria, even though a meeting between Netanyahu and Syria's Leader did not materialize

during the U.N. General Assembly. So, it's unclear where that process even stands.

What he didn't mention there was the attempts previously at normalization with Saudi Arabia that have basically fallen apart as we near the two-year

mark of the war. And then Becky, he circled back to Iran at the end, once again, no surprise there a speech. I think we were very much expecting, in

many ways.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. Let me bring Jeremy in. Jeremy, let's start with the speech broadcast in Gaza, as I understand it. We just got some

sound into CNN, of that actually happening, as Oren suggested, the Prime Minister spoke in Hebrew and in English addressing he hoped the hostages

who might be able to hear this speech he said.

And the speech we were told by Benjamin Netanyahu in a first would be streamed to the mobile phones of Palestinians, let's just stand by for this

sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: In fact, it doesn't die at all. It just keeps coming back with its libelous lies. Refurbished -- over and over again. And I want to tell

you something else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Jeremy, that's the sound from a speaker the IDF, it's set up in Gaza. What do you make of that? And what you heard from the Israeli Prime

Minister?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, just about every year that the Israeli Prime Minister addresses the U.N. General Assembly, he

typically comes with some kind of device, a theatrical device, that he can use to try and make his point.

And this year, it seems that this was it. It was the notion of the speakers broadcasting his message, you know, loud and clear, unapologetically, not

only to the people of Gaza, but to try and reach these hostages who are still being held by Hamas, a gimmicky way of kind of trying to convey his

point here and getting across this notion of reminding the world, of course, that these hostages are still being held by Hamas nearly two years

later.

And also trying to showcase his efforts to get those hostages home, his commitment to getting those hostages home, although --

ANDERSON: What's his name?

DIAMOND: -- although the -- are you still hearing me Becky?

ANDERSON: I'm still hearing you. Yes, absolutely carry on.

DIAMOND: Yeah. And ultimately, you know, trying to convey to the hostages, you know, that he is dedicated to securing their release, although, of

course, if you listen to the families of many of those hostages, they have been protesting day after day against the Israeli Prime Minister, believing

that he is prioritizing his own political necessity, his own political survival, as well as the kind of military aim of defeating Hamas over

securing the release of the hostages.

And so as much as the prime minister made a theatrical display of his commitment to the lives of the hostages. Many of the hostage families and

many Israelis indeed feel quite differently about his level of commitment to those hostages.

But overall, Becky, I think one important point to make here is that this speech by the Israeli Prime Minister really put on display this moment in

time where Israel finds itself on the international stage. It began with a very large number of foreign diplomats walking out of this speech.

[09:55:00]

It continued with the Israeli Prime Minister delivering a speech that three quarters of which was largely recycled talking points that he has made time

and again that are largely aimed at an Israeli audience.

And so, you have this Israeli Prime Minister who is being increasingly shunned by his peers on the world stage, speaking mostly to an Israeli

audience at the end of the day, giving a political speech on the world stage and also standing in the breach, if you will, of this growing

international opposition and growing international support for a Palestinian State.

And that was, you know, perhaps the most notable portion of his speech where he mentioned the fact that his policy of opposing a Palestinian State

is not just his policy, but it is the policy of the Israeli people. And indeed, on that front, the prime minister is quite correct.

The majority of Israelis do indeed oppose the creation of a Palestinian State. And the Israeli Prime Minister and his government, and indeed,

members of the Israeli opposition have all run with that line of opposing the creation of a Palestinian State at a moment in time when you are seeing

more and more countries recognizing that very Palestinian State that this prime minister has vowed to prevent its existence in terms of the facts on

the ground.

ANDERSON: Amir Tibon also joining us. And thank you. You're the Diplomatic Correspondent for Haaretz. You're in Haifa, not too far, of course, from

Gaza City. Amir Israel, the Israeli Prime Minister, has landed his speech. He now stays in the U.S. and is scheduled to have a meeting, at least

publicly, with the U.S. President on Monday.

Where does this speech put us or put Israel, in terms of what happens next? What did you learn from this speech, and where does it take this?

AMIR TIBON, AUTHOR, "THE GATES OF GAZA": OK. OK. Yeah, hi. The speech was a propaganda show. There was nothing to learn from it. I do want to read a

response from a woman who is a national hero to many in Israel, -- she is the mother of Matan, one of the 20 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

A young man who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from his home in southern Israel, right on the border with Gaza. And this is her response to the

speech. She said, I heard the prime minister use my son's name, and it was like a punch to the gut one at the time of that, my son is going through

torture in Hamas captivity.

Netanyahu is using him for propaganda at the U.N. He is bombarding my child and his and he is abusing us, the families. And it goes on and on. It's a

very long response.

I won't read all of it, but this shows you the mindset of a majority of the families of the hostages who see Netanyahu stand on the stage at the U.N.

use the names supposedly reach out to the hostages, while on August 18th, a month and a half ago, the mediators Egypt Qatar, put out a new proposal for

a ceasefire that could actually lead to the release of the hostages, and was accepted by Hamas, and he did not even bother to respond to it.

And what these hostages need, one of them is a neighbor of mine, or -- from Kibbutz Naka Oz my home in Israel. What they need is a deal to return them

to their families immediately, because Hamas is torturing them, starving them, threatening their life. The expansion of the war into Gaza City is,

by itself, a threat to their lives.

We also have close to 30 hostages who are dead, but their bodies are being held by Hamas, and they could disappear in the rubble. What the hostages

and their families need is a deal to bring them back. Not a speech at the U.N. not propaganda, not loud speakers stationed on the border for

photographs, and in that regard, the speech was useless.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Did you hear anything today that suggests Israel is set or intent on signing a deal, even if that deal were to ensure that all

hostages, plus those who may have -- who are alive and those who are deceased, will be returned you know, in one go?

TIBON: A deal like that was already signed in January 2025 and in the middle of March, 2025 just over half a year ago, Netanyahu decided to break

the terms of the deal and renew the war in Gaza. And I will speak now from an Israeli perspective.

Since he did that on March 18th, we had more than 60 of our soldiers killed in Gaza, only one living hostage, Dan Alexander, who has an American

passport, returned alive.

END