The pager at the pulpit — Abbi Kanthasamy

On September 26, Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations to defend Israel's military actions across seven fronts. He held up a pager and asked, "Remember the beepers?" The pager was not just a prop in the prime minister's hands; it represented the shocking explosion of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least 37 people and injuring over 3,000.

Children and civilians were among the victims. The explosions tore through homes, shops, and streets, prompting UN human-rights experts to warn that the attacks could constitute war crimes.

Netanyahu's use of the pager in a diplomatic setting was grotesque, as if an accused arsonist were presenting a match at a fire-safety conference. The UN is not a platform for clever weapons, but a place for leaders to make a case for peace. Delegates walked out of the assembly, calling Netanyahu's performance a "masterclass in changing the subject".

Israel's PM accused the critics of being "moral cowards" and claimed that Israel was fighting everyone else's fight. He labeled criticism as an "eighth front" and accused his opponents of joining the "information war" against him. However, his claims of sending warnings to civilians did not make the roads safer for them. The reality, as reported by UNICEF and the Committee to Protect Journalists, is far graver. Over 73,910 Palestinians were killed and more than 21,700 children were killed by September 20, 2026.

The journalist deaths documented by CPJ highlight the danger these professionals face. Their absence makes it difficult to understand the situation in Gaza. The government's threats to strip citizenship from people who "smear" Israeli soldiers only serve to obscure the truth. If the government has nothing to hide, it should welcome scrutiny, not threats.