'Lay down your arms' and free hostages now, Israel's PM Netanyahu tells Hamas at UNGA

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken directly to the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, saying, "We have not forgotten you."

The prime minister's office announced earlier on Friday that loudspeakers on the Israeli side of the border would broadcast Netanyahu's speech into Gaza as part of what it calls an "informational effort."

"We will not rest until we bring all of you home," Netanyahu said in both Hebrew and English, telling Hamas "lay down your arms" and free the hostages now.

"Israel will hunt you down," Netanyahu warned.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in what Netanyahu called an act of "unspeakable savagery".

Hamas took 251 people as hostages, and is currently holding 48, of whom 20 Israel believes are still alive.

"Israel is fighting your fight," Netanyahu said, citing what he called the rise of radical Islamism in countries across the world.

Netanyahu also held up a map showing what he called "the curse of Iran's terror axis," saying much of Tehran's proxies had been decimated by Israel’s military, citing Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthis as examples.

"Our enemies hate all of us," Netanyahu said, denying that genocide is happening in Gaza.

Netanyahu entered the chamber to rowdy applause and cheering, prompting repeated calls for order. But dozens filed out of the room as he made his way to the podium.

Israel has been facing growing international condemnation for the war in Gaza, with several countries condemning the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

In August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said famine is occurring in Gaza City and warned it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.

Netanyahu denied famine was happening anywhere in the Strip, saying Israel had let in 2 million tonnes of aid, enough to satisfy the dietry requirements of the population.

The Israeli military offensive has to date killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry whose figures do not distinguish between fighters and civilians

No mention of West Bank annexation

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, offering strong assurances that he'd block a move that Arab leaders in the region have staunchly opposed.

Asked about Israel officials suggesting in recent weeks that their government could move to seize control of at least some parts of the West Bank, Trump was blunt.

"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank," he told reporters in the Oval Office while signing executive orders unrelated to foreign policy. "I will not allow it. It's not going to happen."

Possible annexation has been floated in Israel in response to a string of countries, including key US allies like the United Kingdom and Canada, moving to recognise a Palestinian state.

France, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Andorra and Belgium also recognised Palestinian statehood at this year’s General Assembly.

Trump said he'd spoken to Netanyahu and that he'd be firm in not allowing annexation, adding, "It's been enough. It's time to stop now."

Trump has been a staunch supporter of Israel but has also sought to broker an end to the fighting against Hamas in Gaza.

His comments on Thursday constituted a rare instance of potential pushback against top Israeli officials.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a controversial settlement expansion plan that will cut across land that the Palestinians hope would form the basis of a future state.

"There will not be a Palestinian state," Netanyahu said during a visit to the Maale Adumim settlement in the West Bank.

"This place belongs to us...We will safeguard our heritage, our land and our security. We are going to double the city’s population."

Israel's Higher Planning Committee gave final approval for the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank in August.

The plan, on an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, was under consideration for more than two decades but frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations.

The timing is also fraught, given that Israel is waging a major military offensive in a bid to seize Gaza City, while expanding settlements in the West Bank, illegal under international law.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War in 1967. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state.

They, and much of the international community, say annexation would all but end any remaining possibility of a two-state solution, which is widely seen internationally as the only way to resolve decades of Arab-Israeli conflict.

Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the White House on Monday, his fourth trip to Washington since Trump's second term began in January.