Diplomacy · Security · Economy
Gaza at the UN: a walkout on Netanyahu, Abbas’s election pledge and a $2.45bn plan
Dozens of delegations walked out of Netanyahu’s address, in which he called the genocide accusation a lie; Abbas, by video, set Palestinian legislative elections for 28 November. The Board of Peace unveiled a $2.45bn, six-month Gaza recovery plan not yet fully funded.
High divergence
Where they split
US outlets and the UAE and Saudi press weigh the Board of Peace plan; Al Jazeera, Press TV, RT and Xinhua centre Netanyahu’s speech and the walkout.
The insight
The walkout split the GCC itself: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman left while the UAE and Bahrain stayed (Anadolu), and the UAE is funding a pilot Rafah neighbourhood under the plan (Axios). Beijing’s delegation likewise stayed even as Xinhua reported the empty seats.
What every bloc agrees on
On 24 September dozens of delegations, including most from Arab and Muslim states, left the General Assembly hall as Netanyahu took the podium; he rejected the genocide accusation and called those leaving ‘moral cowards’. Abbas, speaking by video, urged preserving the two-state solution. Israeli strikes continued in Gaza despite the October 2025 ceasefire.
The week in figures
- $2.45bn
- Board of Peace six-month Gaza recovery plan, 66 programmes
- $280m
- transferred of $17bn pledged at a February donor conference
- 98%
- of Gaza schools damaged or destroyed, as in-person classes resume
- 1,431
- Palestinians killed since the October 2025 ceasefire, per Gaza Health Ministry
Plan cost: Axios, AP, The National. $280m/$17bn: Times of Israel only (single-sourced). 98%: UNICEF via Reuters. 1,431: Gaza Health Ministry via Al Jazeera, 30 Sep; TASS reported 1,421 and MEI ‘over 1,200’ — cut-off dates differ, not comparable.
Coverage from 6 of 6 blocs: Europe 3 sources, Russia 2 sources, China 1 source, Iran 1 source, GCC & Arab 4 sources, United States 5 sources.
How each bloc frames it
Sources are grouped by where they are registered, owned and funded — not by editorial line.
United States 5 sources
A costed plan for Gaza, funding and ceasefire unresolved
US outlets centre the Board of Peace’s $2.45bn plan: Axios says officials expect donors once ‘political hurdles’ clear; AP notes Hamas has not disarmed and Israeli forces hold about 60% of Gaza. MEI analysts say ‘disciplined American diplomacy’ can still salvage the peace track.
Axios · Associated Press · Middle East Institute · Arab Center Washington DC
Europe 3 sources
A ‘supposed peace’ that has not reopened aid access
Paris disputes Washington’s peace claims: Macron said the ‘supposed peace’ had not reopened humanitarian access ‘for a single second’ (Reuters). Reuters also reports Washington shelved a draft likening planned UK, French and Canadian settlement-import bans to BDS; London-based MEE calls the war genocide in its own voice.
Reuters · Middle East Eye · Chatham House
GCC & Arab 4 sources
Walkout and Gaza’s dead first; the plan, with doubts
Doha’s Al Jazeera leads with the walkout and Gaza’s toll, describing a ‘genocidal war’. Abu Dhabi’s The National and Saudi-owned Arab News cover the Board of Peace plan but stress Israeli and Hamas obstacles; MEI’s Brian Katulis told Arab News it is ‘the only game in town’.
Al Jazeera · The National · Arab News
Iran 1 source
The walkout as proof of Israel’s ‘growing isolation’
Iran’s state-run Press TV frames the walkout as Israel’s ‘growing isolation’, reporting 77 countries absent (citing Israeli media), and uses the terms ‘occupying regime’ and ‘genocidal war’.
Press TV
Russia 2 sources
A ‘confrontational’ Netanyahu facing a mass walkout
Russia’s state-funded RT casts Netanyahu as ‘lashing out’ in a ‘confrontational tone’ and reports delegations from more than 70 countries walked out. TASS relays Gaza Health Ministry tallies of ‘the escalation of the conflict’: 74,030 dead as of 30 September.
RT · TASS
China 1 source
Walkout reported; the two-state solution foregrounded
China’s state agency Xinhua reports ‘scores of delegates’ leaving and pairs Netanyahu’s genocide denial with Abbas’s call to ‘preserve the two-state solution’, without Chinese official comment. Beijing’s delegation stayed in the hall (Anadolu).
Xinhua · Anadolu Agency
Outcomes
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What holds up, and what does not
Log in to see what holds up, and what does not
How it unfolded
- 22 SepGaza pupils return to in-person classes for the first time in three years
- 22 SepMacron tells UNGA a ‘supposed peace’ has not reopened humanitarian access
- 23 SepBoard of Peace unveils $2.45bn, six-month, 66-programme Gaza recovery plan
- 24 SepDelegations walk out on Netanyahu; Abbas, by video, sets 28 November elections
- 29 SepIsraeli strike kills Izz al-Din al-Beik, Hamas armed-wing head in northern Gaza
- 1 OctGaza City buries 105 people recovered from rubble of buildings bombed in 2023
Where it is written, and where it lands
Coverage clusters at the UN in New York, in Doha and London; the impact lands in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.
Written in New York, felt in Gaza
Coverage — where it is written Reporting came from UN headquarters, Washington, Doha, London and Israeli newsrooms, with Gaza-based coverage via WAFA and Al Jazeera; Tehran, Moscow and Beijing appear through a few state-media items.
Impact — where it lands Exposure lands on Gaza (strikes, schooling, reconstruction), the West Bank (settlement-import bans, the 28 November vote), Israel before its 27 October election, and Egypt and the UAE as plan partners.
Sources on this topic
Wire copy is attributed to the originating agency and not counted twice.
Method
Reuters, AP and Anadolu items are cited via syndicated copies. Casualty tallies are Gaza Health Ministry figures with differing cut-offs. Iranian, Russian and Chinese framing rests on one or two items each.