When the 'full truth' of what happened in Gaza is revealed 'it will shame the world', Taoiseach says

Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at the UN Headquarters on September 24, 2026 in New York City. Picture: Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned that Israel does not “seem to be interested” in peace as he urged world leaders to act more forcefully to ensure the terror being inflicted in Gaza is stopped.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly in the early hours of this morning, the Taoiseach said that when the “full truth” of what has happened in Gaza is revealed, “it will shame the world”.

“Nobody will be able to say that we did not know. Let it not be said that we did not act,” Mr Martin said.

The Taoiseach’s address to the UN in New York came just hours after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried what he described as a global anti-Jewish conspiracy and swatted aside criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Dozens of delegates, inspired by a Palestinian call, walked out of the General Assembly Hall of the UN headquarters as Mr Netanyahu took to the stage.

But a defiant Mr Netanyahu declared Israel’s war in Gaza is not genocide — “it’s the opposite of genocide”.

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He described the allegations as not only false, but “the biggest lie of the century”.

He added: “To all those spreading lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters. Picture: Heather Khalifa/AP

Mr Netanyahu also dismissed incidents of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as a “handful of young juvenile delinquents”.

Around 74,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023, according to figures considered reliable by the international community.

Hours after Mr Netanyahu’s speech, the Taoiseach warned that there must be a “fundamental shift within Israeli policy towards Palestinians”.

He said that while Europe is “divided” on the matter, he saw “for the first time a critical mass of countries coming together”.

He called on US president Donald Trump, who was thanked by Mr Netanyahu for his support, to use his influence on Israel to stop the genocide.

With elections due to take place in Israel at the end of October, Mr Martin said people are “putting too much chance” on the belief that if Mr Netanyahu is voted out, the onslaught on Gaza will end.

“Israel doesn’t accept the propositions of others, including ourselves, that peace can happen, that you can develop a credible conflict resolution pathway,” the Taoiseach continued.

“They don’t seem to be interested in that. Post what happened on October 7, what we’re witnessing in the West Bank is a form of ethnic cleansing. They’re literally uprooting Palestinians from their homeland.”

Mr Martin accused the Israeli government of deploying “really excessive, disproportionate, and shocking tactics”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly at the UN Headquarters on September 24, 2026 in New York City. Picture: Ryan Murphy/Getty Images

In his national address, delivered shortly after 1am Irish time, Mr Martin said that it is the “stated intent” of Mr Netanyahu to “make the prospect of a two-state solution impossible”.

“When the full truth of what has happened — what is still happening — in Gaza is finally known, when the evidence is gathered, when the testimonies are heard, when the true horrors are finally and fully revealed, it will shame the world,” the Taoiseach told the assembly.

“Nobody will be able to say that we did not know. Let it not be said that we did not act.”

Mr Martin also warned that “narrow self-interest” across the world is “breaking the bonds of solidarity which have so often lifted us to meaningful progress”, and this is putting the “international legal order under tremendous strain”.

The Taoiseach also accused Russia of intensifying “reckless drone and missile attacks” on Ukraine, which he said are “not the actions of a country interested in peace”.

While it is understood the Irish delegation did not walk out of the UN hall in protest at Mr Netanyahu’s appearance, the Department of Foreign Affairs last night refused to confirm this.