Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday that Israel “must finish the job” in Gaza “as soon as possible,” even as intensified military operations killed at least 60 Palestinians that same day.

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Medical sources confirmed that 30 of the victims were in Gaza City, where attacks have escalated since Israel launched a ground operation on September 16. According to Al Jazeera, hospitals in the enclave reported a total of 60 deaths following the latest bombardments.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said Israel had carried out “an airstrike every eight or nine minutes” over the previous 24 hours, with “devastating consequences for civilians.”

Palestinian medical officials also reported that 13 people were killed while attempting to access aid at facilities run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization backed by Israel and the United States.

A report issued on September 16 by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory stated there are reasonable grounds to conclude that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s address was met with a strong diplomatic rebuke: in an unprecedented move, a majority of delegates left the chamber as he began speaking, leaving the hall largely empty. The walkout underscored mounting international outrage over Israel’s policies and the war in Gaza, which has already killed more than 65,500 people.

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