Many delegates walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted the podium to deliver his speech at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

“Order in the hall, please,” General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said amid the walkout.

“If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall, please do so now,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Mr Netanyahu, who was also applauded by a section of the audience, dismissed accusations of genocide against his country, insisting that Israel instead prevented it.

“Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” Mr Netanyahu said and tagged the allegations “the biggest lie of the century”.

“Hamas terrorists committed the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust,” he said, adding that Israel “fought back like lions”.

“What genocidal regime gives a million polio vaccinations to the enemy’s population?” he further asked and recounted that Israel notifies Palestinians before attacks via phone calls, text messages and leaflets.  

Mr Netanyahu’s defence of his country’s military operations comes as a UN commission and other world leaders have accused Israel of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Also speaking on the military attack the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran on February 28, Mr Netanyahu described the destruction of Tehran’s nuclear facilities as “one of the easiest decisions” he made “because if we hadn’t done it, we would all be dead now”.

He added that there was “no greater partner than President Trump”, in what he called a “battle against the barbarians”.