Netanyahu to address UN General Assembly soon, expected to talk ...
Key updates
Responding to Netanyahu, Mamdani accuses PM of ‘baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide’
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani responds to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly, in which the premier called the mayor “antisemitic” and accused him of being friendly with Hamas.
Mamdani, a staunch opponent of Israel, has previously called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and urged his arrest on an International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes charges. Netanyahu denies the allegations.
In a statement following Netanyahu’s speech, Mamdani accuses the prime minister of leading a genocide, a charge he has made previously and that Israel rejects.
“As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani says in his statement, according to local media reports. “Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
On social media, meanwhile, Mamdani writes that he planted an olive tree at his residence last night with Gazan Palestinian families, sharing a video of that event.
Last night I planted an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza.
May peace be our future. pic.twitter.com/3snGtcAA0J
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) September 24, 2026
France to send troops to protect Saudi Arabia on Red Sea oil route, Macron says
France will send troops and defense systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, which is key for energy transport, French President Emmanuel Macron says.
“This is the agreement we have finalized with the Saudis: We are going to send military resources, that is to say, soldiers, radar systems and defense systems, to protect this site — not to get us involved in any conflicts, but to protect this site,” Macron says in an interview with TF1 and France 2 TV.
Gunman shouted ‘You’re going to die for the Jews’ before opening fire outside Ontario synagogue — police
A former Canadian soldier who opened fire on a police officer outside an Ontario synagogue during Yom Kippur shouted, “You’re going to die for the Jews” moments before shooting, police say, declaring that the attack was motivated by hate.
Belleville Police Chief Murray Rodd discloses the alleged words of 29-year-old Sean Ward as police for the first time publicly identify a motive for Sunday’s attack outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue.
“Make no mistake, this was a targeted attack against the Jewish community,” Rodd says. “The suspect had the means, the motive and the mechanisms to cause a mass casualty.”
Police play audio of the attack at a news conference Thursday that they say captures Ward shouting the antisemitic threat before opening fire on Const. Jeff Smith, who was stationed outside the synagogue.
Rodd said Smith was shot multiple times in the head and body but still got out of his vehicle and confronted the attacker, staying engaged for nearly three minutes despite suffering life-threatening injuries. A second officer arrived and joined the gunfight.
About two dozen people were inside the synagogue marking the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. None was injured.
Ward was critically wounded and died the following day. Smith, a 13-year veteran of the Belleville Police Service, remained hospitalized with serious injuries and is expected to undergo multiple surgeries.
The Department of National Defense has said Ward served as an infantry soldier with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry before leaving the Canadian Armed Forces in 2022 at the rank of corporal. He did not deploy during his service.
The province’s police watchdog previously said as many as 30 shots were fired and nearby vehicles and homes were struck.
Synagogue president Norman Weddum has said bullets pierced a window facing the street and struck the opposite wall.
The attack comes amid a spike in reported antisemitic incidents in Canada.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Some 60 ships passed through Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, US official says
Some 60 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, carrying the highest daily volume of crude oil since early July, despite the ongoing war between the US and Iran, a US official tells Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
About 40 of those vessels coordinated with the US military for protection, the US official adds. A total of about 22 million barrels of oil exited the maritime chokepoint.
Reuters could not independently verify the US official’s figures.
Houthis say they attacked Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say they had launched missile and drone attacks on what they described as “a sensitive target” in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh and on Saudi Aramco facilities in the Red Sea city of Yanbu.
The statement comes after Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward the southern province of Taif and Yanbu area on the Red Sea.
There is no immediate Saudi confirmation of an attack on Riyadh or of damage or casualties in either Taif and Yanbu.
US to hand over diplomatic center at Baghdad airport, Iraqi foreign minister says
The United States will transfer to Iraq a diplomatic and logistics hub at Baghdad airport that was repeatedly targeted by Iran-backed groups during the current war, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry says.
It says an agreement was signed with the US charge d’affaires Steven Fagin “to hand over the diplomatic support center affiliated with the US embassy at Baghdad International Airport to the Iraqi government.”
The move, it adds, is part of efforts to end the US-led coalition’s military presence in Iraq, with the remaining troops set to complete their exit by September 30.
For years, Iran-backed armed groups that have long called for the withdrawal of foreign troops have targeted US facilities and coalition forces in Iraq.
During the Iran war, those groups have targeted US sites more than 600 times, including the Baghdad airport facility.
An Iraqi security official and a diplomatic source told AFP earlier this month that US troops have already evacuated the site.
Baghdad and Washington agreed in 2024 to end the coalition’s mission against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Iraq.
Coalition forces are now only present at Erbil airport after having withdrawn from other bases.
The coalition’s presence, especially after the defeat of ISIS, has been a persistent point of friction between Iraqi authorities and Tehran-backed factions in the country.
Since taking office this year, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to reinforce the state’s monopoly on arms and ensure that armed factions hand over their arms to the state.
Authorities say that ending the coalition’s mission removes a key justification used by those groups to keep their weapons.
Report: IDF representative views ‘NAZA’ for first time, compiles report on allegations
An IDF representative has viewed the controversial Israeli-made documentary “NAZA” for the first time and compiled an internal report summarizing its allegations, Channel 12 reports.
The film, which is not in wide release and has been seen by few Israelis, alleges that Israel killed civilians in Gaza with AI-powered strikes. Before its representative viewed the film, the IDF denied allegations in its promotional materials.
The military representative watched the film in Bologna, Italy, after its creators declined IDF requests for a screening, according to Channel 12.
The resulting document reportedly details the film’s claims under headings including “mass destruction and the burning of homes,” “the killing of civilians at food distribution sites,” “comparisons to the Nazis in World War II and substantiation of the claim this was a genocide.”
The military is now examining the claims and will determine how to respond, Channel 12 reports.
Earlier this month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed the military’s top legal official to examine possible legal action against the film and those involved in producing it, accusing them of defaming the military. Zamir also ordered an investigation into the alleged leaking of classified material used in the documentary.
The 80-minute film by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor – whose title is a Hebrew acronym meaning collateral damage – includes testimonies from 24 purported anonymous Israeli intelligence soldiers. The film won a special jury prize earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival, where it debuted.
The film is set to begin screening in cinemas across 56 countries next week and will be released online for free in November.
Netanyahu doesn’t mention Saudi Arabia, expansion of Abraham Accords in UN speech
In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not mention Saudi Arabia or the expansion of the Abraham Accords, a common theme in recent speeches.
Nor did he present any new evidence regarding Iran, as Israel’s UN envoy had said he would earlier today.
Instead, the speech focused on the crimes of the Iranian regime, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, antisemitism, praise of US President Donald Trump, and criticism of Western European leaders.
‘The eternity of Israel will not falter’: Netanyahu ends UN General Assembly speech to applause
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moves toward the end of his speech at the UN by noting that the Jewish people’s story goes back over 3,000 years.
“We speak the same language today that we spoke then. We live in the same land in which our ancestors lived then — David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah,” he says. “That’s our land: The Land of Israel. Our prophets, our purpose and our people are unique in history.”
“Our values have inspired humanity for millennia,” he continues: “The belief in one god. The sanctity of life. The rule of law. Our eternal quest for peace. Our eternal quest for justice. It is these sacred values that propelled us throughout the ages. It is these values that helped us beat the odds of history.”
“Over the centuries, the tyrannies that tried to destroy us failed time and again,” he concludes, and God willing, they will continue to fail. If we muster our courage, if we steel our resolve, we will continue to win.”
“The eternity of Israel will not falter,” he says, quoting the Bible, “and the reason is simple: “We have no other choice.”
“Happy holidays, and thank you,” he says to a 30-second round of applause from the gallery.
Netanyahu at UN: It’s ‘brotherhood of democracies or Muslim brotherhood’ for Europe
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing the UN General Assembly, says leaders in Western Europe are succumbing to antisemitic mobs, and are “afraid to defend freedom.”
He says the choice lies between “the brotherhood of democracies, or the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Israel “does not wait for others to wake up from their moral slumber,” he says, pointing to Israel’s innovations that he says help all of humanity.
He says Israel has never been stronger, and is not afraid of its enemies.
The “tyrants of Tehran,” however, are afraid — of their own people, he says, referring to Iran’s leaders.
Netanyahu holds up a StarLink communications device, the Elon Musk-owned system that provides internet via satellite, which he says allows Iran’s people to exercise freedom of thought and speech. He says he will leave the StarLink device with UN officials to give to the members of the Iranian delegation, so that when they “inevitably defect,” they can tell their story on social media.
He asks protesters, including those outside the building, where they were when Iranian tyrants butchered tens of thousands of their own people at anti-government protests at the beginning of the year.
He calls them “phony human rights protesters,” stressing that they also don’t stand up for Christian minorities. He says that in Israel, Christians are growing and thriving.
He asks why they didn’t protest when Christians left Bethlehem under the Palestinian Authority.
“The power of the people will overcome the people in power,” he says about Iran’s future, predicting that “the murderous regime will be toppled by its lies, by its corruption, by its cruelty.”
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