Convoy carrying Ecuadorian president attacked during protests, officials say.

Ecuador says an aid convoy carrying President Daniel Noboa and foreign diplomats was attacked in Imbabura province on Sunday during protests over fuel prices.

The unrest, now in its eighth day, turned deadly at the weekend. It began after the government said it would end a subsidy on diesel to reduce public spending, curb fuel smuggling and free up funds for social programs. In Imbabura, dozens of demonstrators have blocked roads and clashed with security forces.

The government said Monday that about 350 people ambushed the convoy on Sunday with fireworks, molotov cocktails and rocks as it was driving to the area to deliver humanitarian aid.

Approximately 50 soldiers guarding the vehicles attempted to repel the attackers, presidential spokesperson Carolina Jaramillo said, without specifying whether anyone was injured.

The presidency said the convoy was also carrying dignitaries including Vatican diplomat Andrés Carrascosa, European Union Ambassador Jekaterina Dorodnova and Italian Ambassador Giovanni Davoli.

Italy’s embassy in Ecuador said its ambassador was not harmed in the attack, which it described as a “terrorist act” directed against the Ecuadorian head of state.

CNN has reached out to the diplomatic missions of the EU and the Vatican for more information.

Noboa posted images Monday on X showing several cars with broken and cracked windows. He claimed that the attackers were trying to resist Ecuador’s progress with violence. “We continue: Ecuador cannot go backward,” he said.

The presidency has blamed Sunday’s attack on “terrorist groups” it says have infiltrated the demonstrations.
Protests turn deadly

Officials said another attack on a separate humanitarian convoy this past weekend killed least one person and injured nine soldiers. An additional 17 military personnel were kidnapped, the presidency claimed.

The Indigenous confederation CONAIE, which is leading the protests, has rejected the government’s claims. It said the person who died on Sunday was an Indigenous man who was shot by members of the armed forces. It has called on the government to end what it considers repression against its community. Indigenous leaders have accused the government of violent suppression of protests and allowing unchecked mining and oil drilling on ancestral lands. The government has suggested that the protesters were to blame.

“I think it’s quite clear that the violent actions — in this case instigated by Marlon Vargas, the CONAIE leader, who just a few weeks ago, less than a week ago, was calling for protests and criminal acts such as taking over oil wells — can ultimately lead to such a tragic outcome as the loss of human life,” spokesperson Jaramillo said Monday.

The Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office said it would investigate the matter.

“The preliminary investigation will be carried out — based on international protocols — by its Specialized Unit for the Investigation of the Unlawful Use of Force, in order to guarantee the objectivity of the process,” the office said.

The current Moldovan authorities refuse to hold talks with Russia and also obstruct the Transnistrian settlement, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

His statement comes at a press briefing in response to a TASS correspondent’s question about the latest developments in the region and perspectives for the Transnistrian issue settlement.

"Regarding the [conflict] settlement, this is an extremely difficult issue," Peskov stated. "Having the current Moldovan leadership as our vis-a-vis makes it certainly very difficult and almost impossible to talk about this now."

"This refers to the Moldovan leadership, which effectively excludes dialogue with the Russian Federation," he added.

On September 28, Moldova held parliamentary elections. The turnout reached 52% of registered voters. According to preliminary results from the Central Election Commission, after 99.9% of the votes were counted, the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) retained control of parliament, receiving 50.16%. The opposition has already announced its disagreement with the vote results and intends to appeal them due to numerous violations of voter rights.
Transnistria conflict

Russian peacekeepers were introduced into the armed conflict zone following the signing of an agreement with Moldova on July 21, 1992, for the peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. Currently, the Russian military works alongside the blue helmets of Moldova and Transnistria to maintain peace in the region.

The Operational Group of Russian Forces (OGRF), consisting of around 1,000 troops and officers, is stationed on the left bank of the Dniester River. Its primary task is to guard warehouses storing over 20,000 tons of ammunition that remained after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from European countries.

Additionally, the OGRF supports peacekeepers who have been effectively blockaded since 2015, after Ukraine blocked their supply routes through its territory. The rotation of OGRF personnel has also been hindered by Moldova, which is pushing for their withdrawal.

Chisinau insists on the withdrawal of the OGRF and proposes replacing the peacekeepers with a civilian mission under an international mandate. However, Tiraspol opposes this idea, pointing out that a similar mission was unable to prevent fighting in 1992, which resulted in over 1,000 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries.

#Taliban release a U.S. citizen from Afghan prison. The deputy spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry, Zia Ahmad Takal, identified the man as Amir Amiri. He did not say when Amiri was detained, why, or where.

An official with knowledge of the release said Amiri had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024 and was on his way back to the U.S. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details with the media.

Qatar facilitated Amiri’s release in the latest diplomatic achievement resulting from its security partnership with the U.S. that has secured the freedom of four other Americans from Taliban detention this year. The energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula also helped in releasing a British couple who were imprisoned for months.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Amiri’s release, saying it marked the administration’s determination, reinforced by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad.

“While this marks an important step forward, additional Americans remain unjustly detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will not rest until all our captive citizens are back home.”

Ahmad Habibi, the brother of Mahmood Habibi, a U.S. citizen held by the Taliban for more than three years, said he and his family were grateful to hear the news about Amiri, and they remained hopeful that Mahmood would also return home.

Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American business owner, worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company and vanished in 2022. The FBI and his family have said they believe he was taken by the Taliban, who have denied holding him.

“We are grateful that senior officials at the State Department and National Security Council have repeatedly assured us that any deal they do with the Taliban will be `all or nothing’ and they have explicitly assured us that they will not leave my brother behind,” Ahmad Habibi said.

It remains unclear what the Taliban receive in exchange for freeing U.S. nationals. But Afghanistan’s needs are many.

The international aid money that flowed into the country after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion is drying up even as economic and humanitarian crises mount, particularly after a magnitude-6 earthquake on Aug. 31.

But Afghanistan remains a focus for Trump, who has said he wants to retake Bagram Air Base, a massive former U.S. military facility, a demand rejected by senior Taliban officials.

Riazat Butt, The Associated Press

Police: Deadly shooting in North Carolina was ‘highly premeditated’ and location was ‘targeted’.

Nigel Edge, 40, of Oak Island is accused of opening fire Saturday night from a boat into a crowd gathered at the American Fish Company in Southport, a historic port town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Wilmington, Police Chief Todd Coring said.

At a press conference Sunday, Coring said the location was “targeted,” but he did not elaborate.

Authorities said Edge piloted a small boat close to shore, which was lined with bars and restaurants, stopped briefly and fired. He then sped away.

Roughly half an hour after the shooting, a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted a person matching the suspect’s description pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on Oak Island. The person was detained and turned over to Southport police for questioning, officials said.

Edge is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He could face additional charges, Coring said.

The weapon used was an assault rifle, although Coring didn’t specify what kind.

“We understand this suspect identifies as a combat veteran. He self-identifies. Injured in the line of duty is what he’s saying, he suffers from PTSD,” Coring said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Edge is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday, District Attorney Jon David said. He is being held without bond.

Among the five people hospitalized with injuries, at least one “is now clinging for their life,” David said. Some of the victims were vacationers from out of town.

Oak Island Police Chief Charlie Morris said the suspect was known to police as someone “who frequently hung out on our pier,” and that he had filed lawsuits against the town and police department over the last few years. He did not elaborate.

The district attorney said Edge had had “minor contacts” with police in the past “but nothing significant in his past which would give us any indication that he was capable of such horror.”

It was not immediately known whether Edge has an attorney to speak on his behalf. No attorney was listed on court documents. A call to Legal Aid services in Brunswick County went unanswered Sunday.

Investigators from multiple agencies -- including the State Bureau of Investigation and the Coast Guard -- remained on the water and at the scene Sunday collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.

Vietnam evacuates thousands and shuts airports as Typhoon Bualoi nears landfall.

Bualoi had left at least 20 people dead in the central Philippines since Friday, mostly from drownings and falling trees, and knocked out power in several towns and cities, officials said. The storm forced about 23,000 families to evacuate to more than 1,400 emergency shelters.

The typhoon was expected to bring winds of up to 133 km/h (83 mph), storm surges of more than a metre (3.2 feet) and heavy rains that could trigger flash floods and landslides.

Vietnam’s weather agency said Bualoi was about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of central Vietnam early Sunday and moving northwest. It was expected to make landfall between Quang Tri and Nghe An provinces.

Authorities grounded fishing boats in northern and central regions and ordered evacuations. State media reported Da Nang planned to relocate more than 210,000 people, while Hue prepared to move more than 32,000 coastal residents to safer ground.

The Civil Aviation Authority said operations were suspended at four coastal airports, including Danang International Airport, with several flights rescheduled.

Heavy rains have drenched central provinces since Saturday night. In Hue, floods swamped low-lying streets, storms ripped off roofs and at least one person was reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters.

In neighboring Quang Tri province, a fishing boat sank and another was stranded while seeking shelter. Eight people have been rescued while efforts were underway to reach three others at sea, state media said.

Forecasters warned of more heavy rain through Oct. 1, raising risks of flooding and landslides in northern and central provinces.

Bualoi was the second major storm to threaten Asia in a week. Typhoon Ragasa, one of the strongest to hit in years, left at least 28 deaths in the northern Philippines and Taiwan before making landfall in China and dissipating Thursday over Vietnam.

Global warming is making storms like Wipha stronger and wetter, according to experts since warmer oceans provide tropical storms with more fuel, driving more intense winds, heavier rainfall, and shifting precipitation patterns across East Asia.

Aniruddha Ghosal, The Associated Press

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines contributed to this report.

Large Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv kills 4 and wounds at least 10. Kyiv bears the brunt of the attack

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration, confirmed Sunday’s casualties via Telegram and said that 10 others were wounded in the attack, which targeted civilian areas across the city. A 12-year-old girl was among the dead. Thick black smoke could be seen rising from a blast near the city center.

“The Russians have restarted the child death counter,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

Russia fired a total of 595 exploding drones and decoys and 48 missiles, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Of those, air defenses shot down or jammed 566 drones and 45 missiles.

Besides Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the bombardment targeted the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Khmelnytskyi, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, and Odesa. Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 40 people were wounded across the country. Later, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry stated the number of the wounded rose to 70, with more than 100 civilian objects damaged.

Zaporizhzhia’s regional head, Ivan Fedorov, said that three children were among the 27 wounded in the region, adding that more than two dozen buildings were damaged in the capital, which that bears the same name.

“This vile attack came virtually @ the close of U.N. General Assembly week, and this is exactly how Russia declares its true position. Moscow wants to keep fighting and killing, and it deserves the toughest pressure from the world,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told world leaders on Saturday that his nation doesn’t intend to attack Europe, but will mount a “decisive response” to any aggression.
Residents shaken

The strikes that began overnight and continued after dawn on Sunday also targeted residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, a medical facility and a kindergarten, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who also said that damage was reported at more than 20 locations across the capital.

At Kyiv’s central train station, passengers arrived to the crackle of anti-aircraft gunfire and the low buzz of attack drones. Mostly women, they waited quietly in a platform underpass until the air raid alert ended. Parents checked the news on their phones while children played online games.

“The sky has turned black again,” said one woman at the station, who gave only her first name, Erika. “It’s happening a lot.”

Ilona Kovalenko, a 38-year-old resident of a five-story building struck in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, told The Associated Press that she woke up because of the explosion, which shattered windows.

“A neighbor kept knocking on our door. She was completely covered in blood and shouting, `help, save my daughter,’” said Kovalenko, who fled the building with her grandmother after the strike.

Oleksandra, the neighbor’s daughter, was the 12-year-old killed in the attack.

“Sadly, she died on the spot,” Kovalenko said. “We are in shock, to be honest.”

Another multistory residential building was heavily damaged by the attack. Emergency services personnel used power saws to clear the debris. Piles of glass littered nearby sidewalks as building residents, some looking shaken, sat on benches.

“There are no warehouses or plants here. We were sure that nothing would happen, but it hit us here,” Volodymyr, a retired Kyiv resident who only gave his first name, told the AP at the site of a missile strike.

The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed that Russia’s military only strikes military targets.

Russian officials didn’t immediately comment on the latest attacks.

For some Kyiv residents, this wasn’t the first time they had come under Russian attack. Mark Sergeev, a pastor who had already fled Russia-occupied Melitopol, found himself under attack again in Kyiv. He was sleeping on the second floor with his wife when the blast struck, with his children on the floor above.

“There was a blast, and a wardrobe fell on me and I was covered with glass. My wife was shouting: `Mark, where are the kids?’ I felt like this was like a death sentence,” Sergeev said. He called out to his older son Toper, who responded that he was alive, before pulling his younger child from the debris.

The pastor, who previously testified before U.S. Congress about Christian persecution in Russian-occupied territories, said that the attack brought back painful memories. “I am a pastor from Melitopol. We had a large Protestant church and a house that I built with my own hands, and the Russian FSB took it away and nationalized it,” he said, describing how Russian forces had forced his family to lie on the ground at gunpoint in 2022.

“And so, we lost our second home again,” Sergeev said.
Polish military responses triggered

The assault also triggered military responses in neighboring Poland, where fighter jets were deployed early Sunday as Russia struck targets in western Ukraine, according to the Polish armed forces.

Polish military officials characterized these defensive measures as “preventative.”

International concerns have mounted recently that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders as European countries rebuked Russia for what they said were provocations. The incidents have included Russian drones landing on Polish soil and Russian fighter aircraft entering Estonian airspace.

Russia denied that its planes entered Estonian airspace and said that none of its drones targeted Poland.

The latest bombardment follows Zelenskyy’s announcement Saturday of what he called a “mega deal” for weapons purchases from the United States. The $90 billion package includes both the major arms agreement and a separate “drone deal” for Ukrainian-made drones that the U.S. will purchase directly.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses shot down 41 #Ukrainian drones overnight into Sunday.

Derek Gatopoulos, Illia Novikov, and Elise Morton, The Associated Press

Morton reported from London.

#Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the group would not allow itself to be disarmed on Saturday as he addressed supporters marking one year since the killing by Israel of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah.

The charismatic leader was killed in an Israeli air strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27, 2024.

Without Nasrallah and with much of its military capability destroyed by Israel, Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanese politics has weakened, and Beirut has ordered the army to disarm the group.

“We will never abandon our weapons, nor will we relinquish them,” Qassem told the tens of thousands of supporters gathered at the tomb of the former chief on Saturday.

“We are ready for martyrdom,” he added.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, weakened by a deadly war with Israel last year, has organized a series of commemorative events to mark Nasrallah’s death.

Waving the group’s yellow banner as well as Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian flags, Hezbollah supporters gathered at the mausoleum, near Beirut airport, chanting “death to America, death to Israel” while partisan and religious songs blared from loudspeakers, an AFP journalist reported.

‘More than words’

Hezbollah is commemorating the killings of Nasrallah and second-in-command Hashem Safieddine in a series of events which began on Thursday with the projection of their images onto the iconic Raouche rock in Beirut, despite government opposition and the party’s lack of official authorization.

That opposition in turn drew criticism of the government from Hezbollah supporters.

In a statement on Saturday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed his hope that “this painful anniversary will serve as a rallying point, reinforcing the belief that Lebanon’s salvation lies in having one unified state, one army and constitutional institutions that protect sovereignty and uphold dignity”.

Despite a November ceasefire that ended over a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, the latter has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon and still has troops positioned at five border points inside Lebanon.

Hezbollah is under intense pressure to hand over its weapons, with the Lebanese army having drawn up a plan to disarm it, beginning in the south.

Lebanon itself is under pressure from the United States and ongoing Israeli strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Lebanon’s efforts towards disarming Hezbollah from the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, but said he needed “more than words”.

Hezbollah was the only major armed group allowed to keep its weapons following Lebanon’s civil war, because it was fighting continued Israeli occupation of the south.

The group’s heartlands are in mainly Shiite southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as south Beirut.

In October 2023, it began launching rockets at Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza. Months of exchanges escalated into all-out war in September 2024, before a ceasefire was agreed two months later.

HURGHADA, Egypt — With nothing but grit, muscle and an iron jaw, a hugely popular Egyptian wrestler geared up for an extraordinary challenge Saturday: pulling a 700-ton ship across the water with a rope held only by his teeth.

“Today, I have come to break the world record,” Ashraf Mahrous said in an interview in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada after the challenge.

It was no easy task but Ashraf Mahrous, also known by his nickname Kabonga, has dazzled before with his astonishing strength. Earlier this year, he pulled a train. He has also singlehandedly pulled a locomotive and four years ago, a truck.

With each achievement, his popularity has soared — children run after him in the streets, where he’s known simply as “strong man.”

With the ship pull, Mahrous, a 44-year-old native of the port city of Ismalia, hopes to get yet another recognition from the Guinness World Records.
A triumph by the Red Sea

The scene was set Saturday at the shore in Hurghada. Mahrous first pulled a 700-ton ship, and to affirm his challenge he pulled two ships weighing approximately 1,150 tons together.

“I pulled them both, thanks to God, to prove to my friends and the whole world that God blessed me by being the strongest man in the world,” Mahrous said.

He said the current Guinness World Record is a 614-ton ship set in 2018.

Mahrous said he will send videos and photos of his attempt to Guinness World Records to be evaluated.

In preparation for the feat, Mahrous followed a protein- and iron-rich diet, consuming at least a dozen eggs, two whole chickens, and 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of fish every day — all while training for two hours, three times a day.

It wasn’t his first ship pull. Six years ago, he tried for two hours before he managed to pull a 4,000-ton ship in the water, a rope strapped to his shoulders, for about 30 metres (yards). The event was caught on video.

″I grunted and yelled as I pulled the ship, and I spoke to it, saying ‘It’s either me or you today,’" he told The Associated Press recently at his local gym in Cairo, where he trains daily.

Mahrous believes that speaking with the object he pulls beforehand helps him establish a connection and is key to his success. “It’s important for me to treat the object that I will pull as part of my body that moves along with my heart beat,” he said.
An extraordinary child

Mahrous, 190 centimetres (6 feet 3 inches) tall and weighing 155 kilograms (341 pounds), said his strength emerged early.

As a child, he would carry his friends for fun and haul heavy loads, several gas cylinders at once on a wheelbarrow. He was 9 when his father lost his job as a contractor in Iraq and after that, Mahrous began knocking on doors, offering to lift heavy items for some cash.

Once, he accidentally broke a friend’s arm when he tried to pull him as they played. He helped people move bricks, sandbags and other heavy materials — and he was fast. He loved sports and trained in kung fu, kickboxing and even established a wrestling team in Cairo.

It was only when his friends saw him easily flip giant tires 10 times in a row in a deserted courtyard at their gym and push a car using only a finger that they encouraged him to go for a world record.

“I was inspired by people who broke records and felt like they are no better than me,” he said. Now he’s less fearful of injuries and more concerned about failing to accomplish a pull.
Past recognitions

In March, he was formally recognized by Guinness World Records for the heaviest rail pull: He pulled a train weighing 279 tons with a rope held by his teeth for a distance of nearly 10 metres (33 feet). At the time, he received two other certificates, for the heaviest locomotive pull and for the fastest 100-metre road vehicle pull.

Mahrous, who is also president of the Egyptian Federation for Professional Wrestlers, was previously recognized by Guinness in June 2021, for pulling a 15,730-kilogram truck with his teeth. And in February 2024, the international franchise recognized him for cracking and eating 11 raw eggs in 30 seconds.

He wears a mouthguard during pulling events but says he has no concerns about his teeth. Instead of going to a dentist, he uses a miswak — a traditional teeth-cleaning twig rich in anti-bacterial compounds that help prevent decay.

He says he takes no supplements but eats, sleeps and works out at least twice every day.

His ambitions are far from over. Next, he plans to send a request to the Egyptian presidency for permission to pull a 263,000-ton submarine.

He also hopes someday to pull a plane using only his eyelid muscles.

Khaled reported from Cairo.

Fatma Khaled And Ahmed Hatem, The Associated Press

Popular #Egyptian ‘strong man’ goes for another jaw-dropping challenge: Pulling a ship with his teeth

Dozens at #UN General Assembly walk out as Israeli leader Netanyahu begins much-watched speech.

Encircled by critics and protesters at the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders on Friday that his nation “must finish the job” against Hamas in Gaza, giving a defiant speech despite growing international isolation over his refusal to end the devastating war. “Western leaders may have buckled under the pressure,” he said. “And I guarantee you one thing: Israel won’t.”

Netanyahu’s speech, aimed as much at his increasingly divided domestic audience as the global one, began after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the UN General Assembly hall en masse Friday as he began.

Responding to countries’ recent decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu said: “Your disgraceful decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against innocent people everywhere.”

As the Israeli leader spoke, unintelligible shouts echoed around the hall, while applause came from supporters in the gallery. The U.S. delegation, which has backed Netanyahu in his campaign against Hamas, stayed put. The few world powers in attendance, the United States and the United Kingdom, did not send their most senior officials or even their UN ambassador to their section. Instead, it was filled out with more junior, low-level diplomats.

“Anti-semitism dies hard. In fact, it doesn’t die at all,” Netanyahu said. Netanyahu routinely accuses his critics of antisemitism.

Netanyahu faces international isolation, accusations of war crimes and growing pressure to end a conflict he has continued to escalate. Friday’s speech was his chance to push back on the international community’s biggest platform.

As he has often in the past at the United Nations, Netanyahu held up a visual aid -- a map of the region titled “THE CURSE,” which chronicles Israel’s challenges in its neighborhood. He marked it up with a large marker. He wore -- and pointed out -- a pin with a QR code that leads to a site about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that led to the war and about the Israeli hostages taken by the militants. Members of the Israeli delegation wore similar pins.

Netanyahu also frequently praised U.S. President Donald Trump, his chief ally in his political and military approach in the region. Netanyahu said the changes across the Mideast have created new opportunities. He said Israel has begun negotiations with Syria aimed at reaching security arrangements with the country’s new government.

The Israeli government took steps Friday to ensure that those in Gaza heard Netanyahu, setting up loudspeakers at the border to blast his words into the territory. The prime minister’s office also claimed that the Israeli army had taken over mobile phones in Gaza to broadcast his message. AP journalists inside Gaza saw no immediate evidence of Netanyahu’s speech being broadcast on phones there.

Netanyahu said the special measures were taken in an attempt to reach the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. He spoke in Hebrew at one point, and he read the names of the 20 who are believed to still be alive. But much of his speech was also aimed at an international audience that is increasingly critical of Israel.
A closely watched speech

Netanyahu’s annual speech to the UN General Assembly is always closely watched, often protested, reliably emphatic and sometimes a venue for dramatic allegations. But this time, the stakes were higher than ever for the Israeli leader.

In recent days, Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and others announced their recognition of an independent Palestinian state. The European Union is considering tariffs and sanctions on Israel. The assembly this month passed a nonbinding resolution urging Israel to commit to an independent Palestinian nation, which Netanyahu has said is a non-starter.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant accusing Netanyahu of crimes against humanity, which he denies. And the U.N’s highest court is weighing South Africa’s allegation that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, which it vehemently refutes.

As Netanyahu spoke Friday, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered a few blocks from the heavily secured United Nations.

“Israel has chosen a war against every conscientious human being in this world,” said Nidaa Lafi, an organizer with Palestinian Youth Movement, prompting chants of “shame” from the growing crowd. “The masses have come to the irreversible realization that this war was always about the complete ethnic cleansing of Palestine, about the exploitation and the stealing of Palestinian land.”
Opposition to Netanyahu’s approach is growing

At a special session of the UN Security Council this week, nation after nation expressed horror at the 2023 attack by Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, saw 251 taken hostage and triggered the war. Many of the representatives went on to criticize the response by Israel and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and influx of aid.

Israel’s sweeping offensive has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza and displaced 90 percent of its population, with an increasing number now starving.

While more than 150 countries now recognize a Palestinian state, the United States has not, providing Israel with vociferous support. But Trump pointedly signaled Thursday there are limits, telling reporters in Washington that he wouldn’t let Israel annex the occupied West Bank.

Israel hasn’t announced such a move, but several leading members in Netanyahu’s government have advocated doing so. And officials recently approved a controversial settlement project that would effectively cut the West Bank in two, a move that critics say could doom chances for a Palestinian state. Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet during his visit.

Netanyahu’s office also “instructed civilian groups in cooperation with the army to place loudspeakers on trucks on the Israeli side of the border,” it said in a statement, noting that the broadcasts would be arranged so they would not endanger soldiers.
Palestinians had their UN say the day before

Netanyahu was preceded at the leaders’ meeting a day earlier by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who addressed the General Assembly via video on Thurdsay after the U.S. denied him a visa. He welcomed the recent announcements of recognition but said the world needs to do more to make statehood happen.

“The time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people” and help them realize “their legitimate rights to be rid of the occupation and to not remain a hostage to the temperament of Israeli politics,” he said.

Abbas leads the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers portions of the West Bank. Hamas won legislative elections in Gaza in 2006 before seizing control from Abbas’ forces the following year.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, then withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their envisioned state, part of a “two-state solution” that the international community has embraced for decades.

Netanyahu opposes it robustly, maintaining that creating a Palestinian state would reward Hamas. In his speech, Netanyahu insisted that Israel is battling radical Islam on behalf of all nations.

“You know deep down,” he said, “that Israel is fighting your fight.”

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Geller reported from New York. Liseberth Guillaume in New York contributed.