GAZA, Sept 27 (AFP): Hamas said a mass walkout of delegations before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations on Friday showed Israel's "isolation" as a result of the Gaza war.
"Boycotting Netanyahu's speech is one manifestation of Israel's isolation and the consequences of the war of extermination," Taher al-Nunu, the media adviser to the head of Hamas's political bureau, said in a statement.
As Netanyahu walked up to the General Assembly rostrum, a number of delegations walked out-in a deliberate protest as the Israeli premier was the day's first speaker.
But the room was filled with applause from the public gallery as Netanyahu had again invited supporters to watch.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said the Israeli prime minister had been left with "nothing but a chorus of cheerleaders who entered the UN hall only to clap in support of genocide".
In a statement, Hamas accused Netanyahu of repeating "lies and blatant denial of the genocide, forced displacement and systematic starvation committed by him" and the Israeli military in Gaza."
MSF suspends Gaza activity
due to Israeli offensive
Medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said Friday it had been forced to suspend its work in Gaza City because of the ongoing Israeli offensive there.
The statement came after the Israeli military pressed its offensive against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza City, from which hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee.
"We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces," said Jacob Granger, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.
Israel forum says PM call
to 'finish the job'
endangers hostages
The main Israeli group representing the families of Gaza hostages decried Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call at the UN Friday to "finish the job" in the territory, saying it endangered the remaining captives.
"Every day of continued war puts the living hostages at greater risk and threatens the recovery of those who have been murdered," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
"Time and again, (Netanyahu) has chosen to squander every opportunity to bring them home."
Twelve nations to back
cash-strapped PA
Twelve countries including Britain, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Spain on Friday announced a new coalition to financially support the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority (PA) as Israel withholds its tax revenues.
The Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Authority "was established in response to the urgent and unprecedented financial crisis" confronting the PA, the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.
It aims to stabilise the Ramallah-based body's finances, preserve its ability to govern, provide essential services and maintain security, "all of which are indispensable to regional stability and to preserving the two-state solution", the statement added.
Greek PM warns Israel
risks losing friends
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a key partner of Israel within the European Union, warned Friday that Israel risked losing remaining friends with its destructive war in Gaza.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, the center-right Greek leader said Israel had a right to self-defense after the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas but cannot "justify the death of thousands of children."
