India, Sept. 25 -- Several delegates and officials were seen walking out of the UN General Assembly in protest as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the rostrum to deliver his speech on Thursday, amid continuing tensions over Israel's military operations in Gaza, media reports said.

Responding to the walkout, Netanyahu was quoted by the BBC as saying: "If there are any other moral cowards who haven't left the hall, please do so now."

"Devastating Iran's nuclear facilities was hard." Netanyahu said. "But for me, it was one of the easiest decisions I've ever had to make as Prime Minister. Because if we hadn't done it, we'd all be dead."

Netanyahu delivered his speech hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed t...