UNITED NATIONS, New York – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that Middle East conflicts are a choice between “a blessing or a curse” as he warned Iran’s “tyrants” about Israel’s ability to defend and retaliate.

“If you beat us, we will beat you,” Netanyahu said. “There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that applies to the entire Middle East: far from being lambs led to the slaughter, Israel’s soldiers have fought back with incredible courage and heroic sacrifice .”

Netanyahu took the podium before a partially empty General Assembly, some delegates walked out, but those who had gathered to listen to him gave loud applause before his speech. Apparently absent from the speech was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was hosting an event on global health security on the sidelines of UNGA.

He revealed that he almost didn’t attend the high-level UN week, but felt the need to “set the record straight,” which included laying out the choices the world is facing.

Netanyahu brought several families with loved ones held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza to New York and renewed calls for their release. He noted: “I will say it again: We remain focused on our sacred mission of bringing our hostages home.” And we will not stop until this mission is complete.”

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“Israel seeks peace,” Netanyahu said. “Israel longs for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again – but we face brutal enemies seeking our destruction, and we must defend ourselves against these brutal murderers.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Netanyahu called the issue a choice between “a blessing or a curse,” with Iran’s “relentless aggression” being the “curse” against the “blessing” of reconciliation between Arab nations and Israel.

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“A normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel seemed closer than ever. But then came the curse of October 7,” Netanyahu said. “Thousands of Iran-backed Hamas terrorists from Gaza stormed into Israel in pickup trucks and motorcycles. And they committed unimaginable atrocities.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

The prime minister again criticized Iranian aggression, warning that if left unchecked it would “endanger every single country in the Middle East and many, many countries in the rest of the world.”

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“Iran is trying to impose its radicalism far beyond the Middle East,” Netanyahu warned. “That’s why it funds terrorist networks on five continents. That’s why it’s building nuclear warhead ballistic missiles to threaten the entire world.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds signs as he speaks at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

“For too long the world has appeased Iran. She closes her eyes to his internal repression. She turns a blind eye to his external aggression,” he added. “Well, this appeasement has to end, and this appeasement has to end now.”

Netanyahu called on the UN Security Council to “withdraw” sanctions against Iran and do everything in its power to “ensure that Iran never obtains nuclear weapons.”

However, he complained that the organization appears to have an anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian bias, citing the “automatic majority” of countries that will vote for any policy that harms Israel.

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“For the Palestinians, this UN house of darkness is their home court,” Netanyahu said. “You know that in this swamp of anti-Semitic bile, there is automatically a majority willing to demonize the Jewish state for anything in this anti-Israel, flat earth society. Every false accusation, every absurd claim can find a majority.”

“It has always been about Israel, about the existence of Israel itself, and I tell you: until Israel, until the Jewish state is treated like other nations, until this anti-Semitic swamp is drained, the United Nations will be viewed by fair-minded people everywhere as nothing further than a contemptible force,” he added.

Fox News’ David Hammelburg contributed to this story.