UNGA live updates
World leaders gather in New York City to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting, where Israel’s war on Gaza and Russia- Ukraine war are expected to dominate discussions.
Speaking to a packed hall of world leaders in New York on Monday, the UN chief Antonio Guterres called for ceasefires in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza, describing the conflicts as devastating global stability and human dignity.
“In Gaza, the horrors are approaching a third monstrous year,” he said. “They are the result of decisions that defy basic humanity. The scale of death and destruction are beyond any other conflict in my years as secretary-general.”
The UN chief urged member states to uphold international law and implement the International Court of Justice’s binding measures related to the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
“The International Court of Justice has issued legally binding provisional measures in the case named Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” Guterres said. “The measures stipulated by the ICJ must be implemented — fully and immediately.”
His remarks came as the General Assembly officially convened for its 80th session, with the genocide in Gaza and the recognition of the Palestinian state being key points in speeches.
ٍErdogan calls on countries to recognize Palestine
Following the Indonesian President, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the podium where he said that "I urge countries to recognize Palestine as soon as possible."
"I thank all countries that have recognized the state of Palestine," Erdogan said.
According to Daily Sabah, he delivered a sharp rebuke of Israel’s violations in Gaza, saying Palestinians are enduring unprecedented suffering under what he described as a campaign of mass extermination.
Erdoğan said Gaza “is not a war zone,” but rather a place where “on one side stands an army, and on the other, innocent civilians being massacred.” He slammed Israel for carrying out a policy of “mass extermination,” stressing that humanity had not witnessed such brutality in the past century.
“In Gaza, humanity is hitting rock bottom,” he said.
The president highlighted the plight of children, saying it had become “ordinary” to see 2- and 3-year-olds undergoing amputations without anesthesia.
“Can there be peace in a world where children die of hunger?” he asked, noting that parents in America and Europe are devastated when a child is pricked by a thorn. “But in Gaza, children are having their hands and legs amputated. This is the lowest point of humanity,” he said.
Erdoğan also criticized the United Nations for failing to protect its own staff in Gaza, pointing out that 500 aid workers had been killed, including 326 U.N. employees.
“Genocide, like the Holocaust, is a barbaric concept used to describe the mass extermination of people. Yet today in Gaza, it is not only people being killed, but animals are also being deliberately targeted,” he said.
Criticizing Israel for acting with an “obsession over promised lands” and pursuing expansionist policies that endanger regional peace, Erdoğan called on global leaders to take a stand. “I call on all world leaders: today is the day to stand tall, in the name of humanity, alongside the oppressed Palestinians,” he said.
He also denounced what he called a “state of madness” in Gaza, which he said disturbs even conscientious Jews, does not have their approval, and fuels antisemitism worldwide. “This can no longer continue,” he added.
Prabowo draws links between Indonesians and Palestinians
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto took to the UNGA podium, after Trump’s nearly hourlong speech.
According to Al Jazeera, he said his country is prepared to send 20,000 peacekeepers to Gaza or “anywhere” in need of peace, including Ukraine.
His speech has focused on links between Indonesia’s history – particularly the suffering it faced under colonialism – and that of Gaza.
Though he rarely mentioned Gaza by name, and has not yet once mentioned Israel, he repeatedly nodded toward the situation in the Strip.
“My country knows this pain for centuries. Indonesians lived under colonial domination, oppression and slavery, we were treated less than dogs in our own homeland,” he said.
“We Indonesians know what it means to be denied justice and what it means to live in apartheid, to live in poverty and to be denied equal opportunity, we also knew what can do in our struggle for independence, in our fight to overcome hunger, disease and poverty.”
Prabowo underscored the UN’s role in helping Indonesia secure independence, and then develop, before pivoting to discuss the “genocide and blatant disregard for international law and human decency” witnessed globally today.
“We will never forget and today, we must never be silent while Palestinians are denied that same justice and legitimacy in this very hall,” he said, adding that the UN “exists to reject this doctrine – we must stand for all the strong and the weak”.
‘We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately’: Trump
ِDonald Trump, the president of the US, Israel’s staunchest military and political backer, continues his speech by saying that he has been “deeply engaged” in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel’s war has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians.
“We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it,” Trump said.
“We have to get it done. We have to negotiate peace, he added. “We have to get the hostages back. We want all 20 back,” he continued.
“We have to get them back now,” he said. “We want actually the 38 dead bodies back too.”
Trump also claimed that Hamas “has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace” – a claim rejected by the Palestinian group, which has repeatedly accused Israel of blocking a ceasefire agreement.
The US president also reiterated his claim that the recognition of a Palestinian state by a number of Western countries over the last few days was a “reward” for Hamas.
Later, Trump said that he and Lula “embraced” when they saw one another entering the UN building and agreed to meet next week.
He said that he seemed like a “nice” guy. Trump has issued steep tariffs on Brazil as well as sanctions on several judicial officials after former president (and Trump ally) Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup. Trump has called the prosecution of Bolsonaro a “witch hunt” and vowed repercussions.
‘Absolutely nothing justifies ongoing genocide in Gaza’: Lula
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was the fist leader to deliver speech in UNGA. Brazil is traditionally the first state to deliver a speech at the general debate, and given the tensions in recent months between Trump and Lula, many expected his speech to point on that issue too.
The Brazilian leader quickly raises the recent conviction of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro for his attempts to stay in power after his 2022 election loss.
“A few days ago. … a former head of state was convicted of attacking the democratic rule of law. He was investigated, indicted, tried and held accountable for his actions in a meticulous process,” Lula said.
“Brazil sent a message to all aspiring autocrats and those who support them: Our democracy, our sovereignty are nonnegotiable,” he said.
He condemned the US attacks in the Caribbean.
Without directly naming the US, the Brazilian leader has taken aim at recent US military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.
Trump administration officials have framed those targeted as “narcoterrorists”. Critics said the attacks are extrajudicial killings with little legal basis.
“The comparison between crime and terrorism is worrying,” Lula said.
“The most effective way to combat drug trafficking is to cooperate to suppress money laundering and limit arms trade. Using lethal force in situations that do not constitute armed conflict is tantamount to executing people without trial,” he said.
“Other parts of the planet have already witnessed interventions that cause greater damage than intended with serious humanitarian consequences,” he said, referring to civilian casualties throughout Washington’s “war on terror”, predominantly in the Middle East and Africa.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Brazilian president pointed to the situation in Gaza as a result of the Israeli aggression, saying that "‘Absolutely nothing justifies ongoing genocide in Gaza."
Under tonnes of rubble are buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children.
"We can see that international humanitarian law and the myth of ethical exceptionalism of the West are also being buried there," he noted.
"In Gaza, hunger is used as a weapon of war, and the forced displacement of the population goes on unpunished," Lula said.
"The Palestinian people are at risk of disappearing. They will only survive with an independent state integrated into the international community," he continued.
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