Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned his United Nations General Assembly address on Thursday into a theatrical moment, pulling an actual pager from his pocket while reminding the chamber that Hezbollah still remembers what happened the last time those devices went off. The gesture referenced Israel's covert operation that detonated thousands of Hezbollah-linked pagers, a strike widely seen as one of the boldest intelligence operations in recent memory. Netanyahu used the prop to pivot into what he called a parallel war, one fought not with weapons but with narratives, accusing several countries of spending billions of dollars to spread what he described as lies about Israel in global media. He singled out Qatar first, accusing it of bankrolling universities and outlets to turn young people against Israel and the West, then turned to Turkey, calling it the newest country to join that effort.

Netanyahu reserved some of his sharpest language for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, branding him a tyrant and accusing him of hosting Hamas leaders, jailing journalists, and denying the Armenian genocide, all while positioning himself as a defender of Palestinians. The remarks came as dozens of delegates walked out of the hall in protest before and during his speech, while Netanyahu dismissed those who left as cowards unwilling to hear the truth. His comments add fresh strain to Israel's already tense relationship with both Gulf and Turkish leadership, at a moment when Netanyahu is also facing a difficult reelection fight at home. The speech, delivered on the same platform where he confronted New York's mayor and defended Israel's wars across multiple fronts, underscored how central the battle over public perception has become to Israel's broader strategy.